Rethinking the Great Depression (American Ways Series) @ richardeward.com

Rethinking the Great Depression (American Ways Series)
by Gene Smiley
from Ivan R. Dee, Publisher

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Timely Read For All
  Timely topic.
  Given the financial and political environment in 2008 and looking forward, this book is a must read for all -- essentially a primer on the Great Depression.
  The book is straightforward, concise and easy to read.
  Coupled with Amity Schlaes' "The Forgotten Man: A New History of The Great Depression," these two books may be the most important books to read in the upcoming months, lest we repeat the very expensive economic mistakes of the past.
  

• Required Reading
  Considering the current economic environment, this book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the differences between what really happened during a very, very difficult time in history vs. the odious comparisons some have made to it in an attempt to describe our present crisis. I found this book by reading Amity Schlaes very good book, "The Forgotten Man." Her book drew some very interesting contrasts to Conrad Black's epic biography of FDR.
  Although an academic, Smiley writes so clearly and... more info

• This is the Primer
  This book is simple, clear and accurate. I've turned to it over and over again and can't recommend it too highly. Smiley is especially good when he gets to the second half of the 1930s. I have one copy at the office, one copy at home and carry one around in my backpack when there's room. Also great: Jim Powell's "FDR's Folly," "The Great Depression" by Thomas E Hall and J David Ferguson, Allan Meltzer, and of course Friedman and Schwartz. Superb but hard to get: Lester V Chandler.

• Brief monetarist review of 1930s US economic policy
  This is a brief and relatively easy to read monetarist review of 'the great depression'. As such, it is unclear to what "rethinking" in the title might refer. My guess is that the author is rethinking Keynes, though more time is spent on FDR. Since the difference between Keynes and monetarists is subtle to all but Keynesians and monetarists, I wouldn't recommend this as a introduction to the subject, nor as a survey.
  The text presents a matter of fact narrative, starting in 1929 and ending with the war... more info

Similar Products: