false 42667074 175087 3419805 0060936428 9780060936426 18 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255579465m/3419805.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3419805.The_Forgotten_Man_A_New_History_of_the_Great_Depression 3.95 40 In The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes, one of the nation's most-respected economic commentators, offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. She traces the mounting agony of the New Dealers and the moving stories of individual citizens who through their brave perseverance helped establish the steadfast character we recognize as American today.

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Having recently read up to 1940 in David Kennedy's "Freedom from Fear," I had begun to understand why the business community greatly disliked the Roosevelt Administration. I had always been curious about this, since I recall my Dad telling me how his father would never even allow Roosevelt's name to be mentioned in their household, preferring (as did many others) to simply refer to him as "that man in the White House." After reading Shlaes' account of Roosevelt's handing (or rather mis-handling) of the U.S. economy, I came away with a much greater understanding of why the business community felt the way they did about Roosevelt and his advisors.

I have only two complaints about the book. The first is the lack of any footnotes and the very incomplete bibliographic references - this despite the nearly 10 years and interminable research that was performed to write this book. My second complaint is that Shlaes really never cut Roosevelt any slack at all. She did not go easy on Hoover either, but also never mentions any of the good that came from the Roosevelt years, such as the sense of security that stemmed from the Social Security Act. Even though David Kennedy's "Freedom from Fear" was willing to point out the shortcomings of Roosevelt's handling of the U.S. economy, he did it with a more balanced (and I think more fair) approach.

I'd have given this book 4.5 stars if that were an option. I was sorry that this book had to end. ]]>