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The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression By Amity Shlaes ( Harper Perennial )
Release Date: 2008-06-01
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Product Description
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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 Superficial ( thecuddlybulldog )
This is a rambling critique of Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression that seems to have a theme and coherence apparent only to the author. Seldom have a I felt that I wasted my time reading a book, but this is one of those rare occasions... and I say that as a conservative who believes that FDR's economic response to the Depression is not only overrated, but in many respects has been detrimental to the country. Shlaes, however, simply does not make a persausive case. Her research is thin, perhaps non-existent. She spends little time explaining substantive responses to the Depression, but went on for pages about Andrew Mellon's art collection and his donation of it to the nation. While I do not mean to denigrate Mellon's donation of the art and the National Gallery that houses it, Shlaes' swooning over this act within the context of the Depression brings to mind Marie Antoinette's legendary response to the severe shortage of bread among starving Parisians with her comment "have they no cake, let them eat cake!" It perpetuates the worst stereotype of Republicans. I expected more from a former member of the Wall Street Journal's editorial board. For a well-articulated and supported critique of the New Deal, your time is better spent reading Jim Powell's "FDR's Folly."
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 A potential history textbook ( lloydb39 )
This excellent, well-written, well-researched book by Amity Shlaes should be mandatory in college courses on American history. It balances the extravagant claims of New Deal enthusiasts with the reality of the Great Depression, clearly showing how FDR's experimental programs deepened and lengthened that unhappy period, contrary to the myths. Shlaes shows convincingly that the "forgotten man" was the taxpayer, not the man in the unemployment line.
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A must read ( nhtodd )
This is an outstanding book with a clear description on the events that caused the great depression.
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Interesting but not deep enough ( raynjodi22 )
Overall this is a valuable book with some very interesting insights into the era of the great depression, but I felt it didn't go deep enough into the subject, wrapped up in a hurry and jumped around a lot. A definite contrast to FDR as hero mythology. A warning tale for out time. It could have been better but was valuable none the less.
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I agree with the other one stars ( pballent6 )
I found this book to be a not-very-balanced overview of the New Deal and the Great Depression. The author seems to think that current New Deal scholarship is universally positive and that someone desperately needs to break ranks and criticize it. This is obviously not the case.
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