I am still only about half way through the book. It definitely is not a quick read. But I also can't put it down and consider not finishing it. I still need to find out - as Paul Harvey would say - the 'rest of the story'. What is so striking and frightening to me is that, although the book was written many years ago, - you could easily believe the author was referring to our current economic mess and this deep recession that has gripped not only our country, but the world. The more I read in the book,... more info
Ronald Reagan Pop Up Book:
Generally, this was a very fair, well written history of the Great Depression. While the author treats both Hoover and FDR in an even, balanced manner, the same cannot be said of Ronald Reagan. Perhaps, as some other reviewers have noted, McElvaine was attempting to put the era into some historical context, but too often it comes across that the author just can't stand the 40th President. Too bad, since throughout the book Reagan pops up without warning and usually without warrant. This sort of intrusion... more info
So-so:
Although the individual interviews and stories were interesting, the choice of stories and the order of the presentation is a bit perplexing. The project seems to lack cohesion.
The Depression from the bottom-up:
Having just read "The Forgotten Man" by Amity Shlaes, and "The Great Depression" by Robert McElvaine, back-to-back, I have the opportunity to compare how both authors treat this complex topic. What struck me is that Shlaes' approach seems to be "top-down" while McElvaine's approach is "bottom-up". McElvaine sprinkles into his text the correspondence from ordinary Americans to the Roosevelts; the language is rich, heartfelt, evocative, and infuses the text with a deep sense of melancholy. Shlaes focuses... more info
