"Limit Up" brings the Great Grain Robbery to life Over 50 years later

In 1972, Soviet agents traveled to North America in the middle of the Cold War and secretly bought massive amounts of grain, driving up world prices in one of the most significant events in the history of commodity trading — later dubbed the “Great Grain Robbery.”

If you have ever wondered what grain trading was like before the internet (before big data, algorithms and high frequency trading) this is a great read in understanding a unique breed of grain traders.

“LIMIT UP” is an intriguing story from the perspective of both American and Soviet grain traders. Thrilling suspense, high stakes, international drama — the story of how the Soviets, desperate to import grain due to widespread drought back home, pulled off the simultaneous purchase of millions of bushels of grain from multiple sellers in the U.S. and Canada (including the Canadian Wheat Board) has many components of a great story.

The places referenced in “Limit Up” were also the original scenes of what was later dubbed the Great Grain Robbery, as Crawford takes readers from the Volga Plain in south Russia to the Madison Hotel in Washington, DC to the Velvet Glove lounge in downtown Winnipeg.

Through it all, Crawford weaves in explanations and context about how commodity markets work, government policies of the day, and why the Soviets were able to pull off their massive purchase.

Limit Up is fast paced historical fiction at it’s best - based on the true events surrounding the greatest grain transaction in history.