Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America

Favreau, Marc. Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America. 2018. 189 mins. ISBN 978-0-316-46489-5. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Midway through 1929, no one imagined that six months later the world's economy would have collapsed and businesses and industries would ground to a halt. Life was rich, and wealth was building through the stock market. The Roaring 20s were looking forward to even more prosperity in the next decade. Even as a recession was growing and unemployment was increasing, there was little doubt in people's expectations that the economy would continue to grow.

When a massive selloff on Wall Street at the end of October burst the illusion of a great economy, people's life savings disappeared overnight, causing businesses to pull back, run on banks, and a sense of dread. The federal government determined to let relief in the hands of private interests and charities, which caused further pain and suffering. By 1931, millions of people were unemployed, many had lost everything, and large segments of the population was on the move, seeking ever dwindling work opportunities.

The despair forced President Hoover out, and elected Franklin Roosevelt president. As soon as his Inauguration in 1933, he and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, got to work to immediately involved the federal governments in employment schemes. The result, the New Deal, created a multitude of federal agencies, and put American workers back to work. The Great Depression slowly receded, but it was not until the devastating impact of the Second World War that the American industrial giant fully emerged from its economic woes and entered a decade of economic prosperity.

Well researched, Crash presents information that fans of history will appreciate, and enable the reader to relate to specific individuals who experienced first-hand the pain and suffering that the Great Depression wrought on the United States and the world.