October 29, 1929, was so traumatic, so painful, that nearly a century later it still rattles investors. Years of unprecedented prosperity, fun, exuberance, and a feeling of invincibility ended abruptly that day. What followed was the unthinkable: fortunes were lost, careers destroyed, families evicted, and hunger became widespread. The people who experienced these horrors certainly wondered if their suffering would ever end, and for years it seemed that it would not.