The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression - Hardcover

Shlaes, Amity

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 022406312X ISBN 13: 9780224063128

Publisher: Jonathan Cape, 2007

Synopsis

Challenging conventional history, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. She shows how both Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt failed to understand the prosperity of the 1920s and heaped massive burdens on the country that more than offset the benefit of New Deal programs. From 1929 to 1940, federal intervention helped to make the Depression great by forgetting the men and women who sought to help themselves.

In this illuminating work of history, Shlaes follows the struggles of those now forgotten people, from a family of butchers in Brooklyn who dealt a stunning blow to the New Deal, to Bill W., who founded Alcoholics Anonymous, and Father Divine, a black cult leader. She takes a fresh look at the great scapegoats of the period, from Andrew Mellon to Sam Insull of Chicago. Finally, she traces the mounting agony of the New Dealers themselves. Authoritative, original, and utterly engrossing, The Forgotten Man reveals how those dark years shaped both current political challenges and the strong national character that helps Americans to confront them.

About this title

Review:

'A highly original reinterpretation that turns the received wisdom
about the Depression on its head.'
-- Sunday Telegraph

'A worthy endeavour'
-- Sunday Times

'An engaging read and a welcome corrective to the popular view of
Roosevelt and his New Deal... illuminating.' -- The Financial Times

`Forcibly argued.'
-- Herald

Book Description:

From one of America's most respected economic commentators comes a fresh new interpretation of a crucial yet widely misunderstood moment in American history - the Great Depression.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 022406312X
• ISBN 13: 9780224063128
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480