The Great Depression and The New Deal: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
by Eric Rauchwaybook data
29 ratings,
3.72
average rating, 11 reviews
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published
March 10th 2008
by Oxford University Press, USA
details
Paperback, 160 pages
isbn
0195326342
(isbn13: 9780195326345)
description
The New Deal shaped our nation's politics for decades, and was seen by many as tantamount to the "American Way" itself. Now, in this superb …more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 67)
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avg 3.72
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in December, 2008
The title is definitively appropriate. It's a 130 page summary of the causes immediately leading to the Great Depression, the social climate, and then what the Roosevelt Administration did in response to it. It reads like the extended version of a 101 level college textbook chapter. It covers A LOT of ground in very short time so it's pretty hard to hold onto the specifics and the lists of New Deal acronyms gets weary, but the refresher was definitely helpful. You can't go over this informat...more
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Feb 14, 2009
Elizabeth
is currently reading it
I read this guy's blog regularly (economic historian at UC Davis), and am obsessed with the stimulus debate, plus I'm working on a research project about 20th C debt in the US. So this is a natural choice. Plus, it's "very short." On his blog, he tags his discussions of current New Deal/Keynes/FDR debates "New Deal Denialist Truth Squadding." He's smart and funny. With killer stats. In case you're curious, he's of the opinion that the New Deal worked, and his numbers prove it...more
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Read in December, 2009
A fine overview of the Great Depression and New Deal, as the title makes plain. As it's meant to be "very short," lots get missed. As I'm not an economist I can't argue about the finer points of their arguments about why the Great Depression started and what impact the New Deal had on the Depression. Rauchway does seem to do a fine job of bringing in a lot of the major points of those debates. He seems to discuss the left-wing critiques of FDR and the New Deal more than he does the...more
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Concise and engaging. An excellent introduction to the Great Depression, what caused it, how it affected everyday people, what Hoover and Roosevelt did about during their respective presidencies and how the country finally came out of it.
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Very concise, direct, sums up events and response in a helpful manner.
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Read in November, 2009
It certainly lives up to its subtitle... although the editors cheated a bit by using really tiny type... anyway, a decent read for students of history and for those trying to get a handle on our current macroeconomic debates, re: "stimulus" etc.
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Read in July, 2009
Highly recommended for those who want a brief but fairly comprehensive overview of the Great Depression. I was not aware of how closely it hewed to our present day situation. I am now interested in reading the transcripts for the fireside chats or an FDR biography.
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Read in October, 2008
recommends it for:
kate, anna, evelyn, stacey
Good short guide to the past that is so relevant to us today.
Scaringly mirrors our current situation. Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it: and as Marx said: the first time its tragedy, the second time farce.
Scaringly mirrors our current situation. Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it: and as Marx said: the first time its tragedy, the second time farce.
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Read in October, 2008
lucid, non-dogmatic recap of fiscal policy and politics from 1929-WWII. Totally useful for planning your response to the nu-metal great depression of 2008-whenever it ends.
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Nov 15, 2008
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
As heard on the NPR Books podcast: Laura Conaway describes it as "required reading".
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Read in April, 2009
If you want to a reflection of the current state of affairs, pick up this short read.
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