A good and objective overview of the times of the Great Depression and the impact of the New Deal. While the New Deal had things that did work, it was not quite the cure all that history can sometimes make it seem. There was a great deal of politics behind it, and it is interesting to get the perspectives on Hoover and Roosevelt. What is interesting about Hoover is that when he was elected, if a Depression was to happen, you would have figured him as a top draft pick to fix that problem. However, while the impact of the Depression is not all at his feet, some of his actions ensured that problems would continue through Roosevelt. As for Roosevelt, while not the demon that many right wingers are trying to make him out to be, he was a master politician, and his actions were as much for his own political gain as for any advancements of the American economy. I don't know if we can really find an objective read on the Great Depression (especially with the tough economic times that we are under right now and the partisanship that is now appearing in all forms of literature and media), but this book is certainly a good start