The Stock Market Crash of 1929: The End of Prosperity

Lange, Brenda. The Stock Market Crash of 1929: The End of Prosperity. Part of the Milestones in American History series. 2007. 114p. ISBN 9780791093542. Available at 332.64 LAN on the library shelves.

Following the end of the First World War, the economy of the United States roared back. Cash was plentiful, and advances in economic management promoted the growth of the credit industry and its use to finance expensive items like cars and appliances. Americans were feeling rich, and this was most visible in the stock market, which kept going up throughout what became known as the Roaring Twenties. Despite warnings from economists and from economic data that the party was coming to an end, folks were surprised when, on Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the stock market suffered its worst day, with a 48% drop and billions of dollars wiped out.

Suddenly, people who thought the growth of the market would continue found themselves owing money they didn't have. Economic misery became the norm, as consumer spending retracted, and, with no new orders for goods and services, businesses shut down. Soon, one out of every four workers was unemployed and looking for work. Financial despair became the norm, and families split as people started looking for work far afield. Farms and houses were foreclosed. Bad weather contributed to a mighty Dust Bowl in the prairies, which wiped out millions of acres of farmland. Poverty spread dramatically.

The election of 1932 represented a change of vision for the country, with the election of Franklin Roosevelt to the presidency. Instead of President Hoover's laissez faire attitude that government should not be helping people, Roosevelt promoted several ideas and programs to put the country back to work, including social security, unemployment insurance, the Civilian Conservation Corp, and the Work Progress Administration. The struggle to climb out of the despair and poverty triggered by the stock market crash of 1929 was not fully resolved until the Second World War brought full employment back to the United States. 

Fans of history will appreciate this overview of a drastic period in American history, and will be able to trace some of the roots of the Second World War overseas as Fascist regimes took over in Italy, Spain, and Germany to address the economic distress caused by the crash of 1929.

Other books in the series include:

• The Stock Market Crash of 1929
• The Wright Brothers

Mandela and the General

Carlin, John. Mandela and the General. 2018. 112p. ISBN 9780874868203. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

General Constand Viljoen joined the South African army as a soldier in the 1960s, fighting against Communists and Black activists. As a member of the ruling white Afrikaan minority, Viljoen cheered when Nelson Mandela, a prominent member of the African National Congress (ANC), was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to life in prison. Viljoen raised through the ranks, becoming Commander in Chief of South Adfrica's armed forces. At the same time, hoever, the political regime known as apartheid, which represented White rule and which had been instaured following the Second World War, had begun to crumble under international pressure and internal activism.

As the world changed in 1990, with the Soviet Union's collapse, the reunification of Germany, and the rollback of the Iron Curtain, South Africa was not immune. The apartheid regime released Mandela after 27 years in captivity. Mandela took the reins of the ANC and negotiated with the South African president to put an end of the apartheid regime. Free elections were called in 1994. 

With the electoral campaign heating up and the most likely election of a Black government for the first time, General Viljoen was approached by radical members of nationalist militias, who offered their services to protect White power. Ready to lead a coup against a new government, Viljoen meets Mandela for the first time, and the two of them talk of their lives. Viljoen realizes that a coup attempt will lead to bloodshed and generational destruction, and though the White minority possess most of the weapons, they do not have the numbers needed to successfully win and occupy the country. Mandela, for this part, knows that a coup will lead to vengeance requests from his people, which would destroy their society. 

The two of them begin to negotiate a transition in secret, where no coup will take place, and where the rights of the White minority will be protected by the new government. Against all odds, in 1994 a peaceful transition of power takes place, and the predicted violence does not occur. General Viljoen refuses to lead the conspirators, and Mandela becomes the first Black president of South Africa. Bitter enemies became friends and gave their society a chance to thrive.

The illustrations of this graphic novel are crisp and the coloring reflect the tones of South Africa. Fans of history will learn how a coup almost took place against Mandela's ANC government, and how the Nobel Peace winner was able to diffuse the situation by turning an enemy into a friend.

The Labors of Hercules Beal

Schmidt, Gary D. The Labors of Hercules Beal. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9780358659631.

Living on Cape Cod, Hercules Bean is no hero. His parents both died in a gruesome car accident last year, and now he lives with his older brother, who moved in with his girlfriend to keep the family's garden center. He's more of a weakling. Being named after a Greek demigod has meant nothing but ridicule. Now in 7th grade, Hercules is confronted by a new social studies teacher, a retired Marine commander who runs his classroom like a drill training ground. He's strict and demanding, but he's also fair. When he assigns a year-long project connected to various aspects of social studies, everyone groans. Hercules' fear is realized when he's assigned the performance of Hercules' Twelve Labors. How is Hercules supposed to do all of that mythical stuff in real life?

Missing his parents terribly, and convinced that his brother's girlfriend is a vampire (seriously, Hercules has never seen her out in the sun), Hercules has to figure out a way to perform the twelve labors and report on his progress in monthly meetings. Working with his teacher, Hercules soon accomplishes the first of his twelve labors, and discovers along the way that they not need be exactly like what Hercules the hero confronted. His friends and his family join him and start giving him leads, helping him complete more of the labors. When a hurricane hits Cape Cod, Hercules is faced with his hardest labor yet. 

Making friends along the way, Hercules manage to accomplish all of the labors, and realizes that there is more to a community than working alone. A really humorous story, The Labors of Hercules Beal will thrill the fan of Greek myths with multiple references and how these would apply in real life. Despite his sorrow, Hercules remains upbeat and optimistic, and eventually successfully completes this assignment, learning valuable lessons along the way.

Fas of The Labors of Hercules Beal should take a look at the Wednesday Wars.

How the Gold Standard Works.

Ryan, Peter. How the Gold Standard Works. Part of the Real World Economics series. 2011. 80p. ISBN 9781448812721. Available at 332.4 RYA on the library shelves.

Gold has always attracted the human gaze. Shiny and bright, highly malleable, and coveted due to its rareness, gold quickly established itself as the cornerstone of every economic system, from the Romans in antiquity to modern economies. The rise of paper money facilitated exchanges, but even those bills were technically exchangeable for a quantity of gold at any point.

In the United States, two World Wars and several economic recessions and depressions finally forced the decoupling of what was called the gold standard. The gold standard served to peg the value of each dollar bill to a specific amount of gold, but as the economy grew it became increasingly difficult to keep the amount of dollars in the economy in relative balance to the amount of gold. There was simply too much economic activity, which required much more flexibility than was provided by having the U.S. dollar pegged to gold. 

How the Gold Standard Works explains the chemical properties of gold, how it is mined and refined, and how it has been used in the past and today to support the economy of nations. Despite its loss of status as an economic standard, gold today remains one of the most precious metal. Fans of the economy will appreciate the thoroughness of this volume and its exploration of the gold standard and how, even today, it gold influences our economy.

Attack on Titan, Vol. 5

Isayama, Hajime. Attack on Titan, Vol. 5. 2013. 192p. ISBN 9781612622545. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

With the hole in the wall closed, humans are able to retake Trost and defeat the Titans who had entered the town. in Attack on Titan, Vol 4. Eren's future is to be determined by the decision of a tribunal. Erwin Smith, the captain who leads the Survey Corps, convinces the tribunal to entrust Eren to him, so that he can help the boy discover how to control his power to transform into a Titan. 

Eren is taken to the Survey Corps' headquarters, a castle in disrepair in the countryside. As the Corps restore the facility, Smith begins to plan the first expedition outside the second wall since the first wall fell to the Titans. Both he and Eren believe that Eren's father, a renowned scientist, has research that could explain what Eren's powers are, but this research is in the basement of the house that is currently behind enemy lines.

Armin, Mikasa, and their friends all join the Survey Corps, hoping that they can finally begin to expand humanity's reach. Before this can happen, however, the Corps' expedition must succeed ...

The story continues in Attack on Titan, Vol. 6.

The Weight of Everything

Argueta Mickelson, Marcia. The Weight of Everything. 2023. 240p. ISBN 9781728475356.

The death of Sarah's mother has upended Sarah's world. Her sudden bout with cancer and the quickness with which she departed life meant there was not much time to prepare, and even if there had been Sarah would still not have been ready. She had to leave her beloved arts boarding school to return home to take care of her father, who is literally falling apart, and her younger brother, who remains an optimist despite all of the hard times they are experiencing. Her dad quit his job, money has stopped coming in, bills are piling up, food is scarce, and he can barely take care of himself, let alone his high-school daughter and her seven-year-old brother.

Back at the local high school, Sarah meets David Garza, who she can tell is totally into her. But Sarah doesn't have time for a relationship, let alone romance. She's too busy making art she sells on the Internet, trying to keep her family together while her father falls to pieces under the weight of grief and alcohol. But David is tenacious, and Sarah finds it harder and harder to ignore him. 

When Sarah is assigned a school project in her social studies' class, she soon finds herself digging deep in her mother's roots, examining both her Mexican and her Guatemalan ancestry. What she discovers that her mother was deeply interested by a specific part of history that has all but been forgotten, Sarah decides she attempt to complete her mother's passionate desire to rectify a wrong. But this project also forces Sarah to deal with the grief of losing her mother, something she has not allowed herself to do in order to save her family. And perharp dealing with all of this pain and sorrow would be better if Sarah had help...

Sarah is a strong character who singlehandedly attempts to protect her family while also living her own life. David is sweet and ready to help. Both of them eventually come to an understanding as their relationship grows into something more. Sarah's struggles are realistic and relatable. Fans of stories where the main character attempts to overcome the challenges in their path will appreciate Sarah's tale and her perspectives on a life that fell apart but that is gradually being rebuilt.

The Way of the Gardener: Lost in the Weeds Along the Camino de Santiago

Penner, Lyndon. The Way of the Gardener: Lost in the Weeds Along the Camino de Santiago. 2021. 224p. ISBN 9780889777835.

One of the most famous walking trek in the world is the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James. Though made up of many different roads that all lead to the Cathedral of Santiago, the most famous path is the French Way, which starts in St. Jean, on the French side of the Pyrennes, and then cross into Spain on a 800 kilometer walk. Pilgrims from all over the world accomplish this walk for various reasons: as a test of faith, as a spiritual journey, or as a feat of endurance and strength. 

Penner, who is well known for his gardening chronicles on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, walked the entire length of the Camino with a friend, observing people and nature along the way. Focused on the plants he encountered, Penner describes the northern part of Spain in term of its ecology and the impact human activity had on plants such as olive groves and chestnut trees. Along the way, Penner encounters difficulties but meets wonderful people, eats good food, and enjoys nature. 

Those looking for a challenge or those who enjoy hiking will appreciate this of the beaten path memoir and will long to follow in Penner's footsteps and discover for themselves this amazing path.