The recent debates in Congress about the proposed bailout of the financial industry have featured extended rhetoric about "Wall Street" and "Main Street."

In his new book, Wall Street: America's Dream Palace, Steve Fraser examines historical attitudes toward Wall Street, beginning with the first financial panic of 1792 and moving up to the dot-com bubble and bust. His book focuses on four of the financial world's archetypal characters — the aristocrat, the confidence man, the hero and the immoralist.

Fraser's other books include Labor Will Rule and Every Man A Speculator. A senior lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, he has been published in The New York Time and The Los Angeles Times.

Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.