The Forgotten Man

By: Amity Shlaes

Narrated by: Terence Aselford

It's difficult today to imagine how America survived the Great Depression. Only through the stories of the common people who struggled during that era can we really understand how the nation endured. In The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. Rejecting the old emphasis on the New Deal, she turns to the neglected and moving stories of individual Americans, and shows how they helped establish the steadfast character we developed as a nation.

Shlaes also traces the mounting agony of the New Dealers themselves as they discovered their errors. She shows how both Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt failed to understand the prosperity of the 1920s and heaped massive burdens on the country that more than offset the benefit of New Deal programs.

The real question about the Depression, she argues, is not whether Roosevelt ended it with World War II. It is why the Depression lasted so long. From 1929 to 1940, federal intervention helped to make the Depression great, in part by forgetting the men and women who sought to help one another. The Forgotten Man, offers a new look at one of the most important periods in our history, allowing us to understand the strength of the American character today.

©2007 Amity Shlaes (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"A thoughtful, even-tempered corrective to too often unbalanced celebrations of FDR and his administration's pathbreaking policies." ( Publishers Weekly)

Slow start, solid finish

Like the great depression itself, the book labors along at times, but overall it is a solid and revealing portrait of the 20' s leading into and "through" that dark economic labyrinth providing the intellectual foundations of the New Dealers, their programs renamed and expanding upon Hoover's initiatives, and how Roosevelt changed American politics forever into group warfare. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Interesting Counterpoint

This book offers an interesting counterpoints to standard histories of the New Deal. I recommend reading it in conjunction with one of those standard histories to get both sides of the story. I read it with David Kennedy's "Freedom From Fear" in the Oxford History of the United States series.

This audiobook is well produced, with one exception: there are odd musical breaks in the middle of chapters, but sometimes no such breaks between chapters themselves. The narrator is often interrupted mid-sentence. I think this is to bridge over the gap between two digital segments of the recording. It's not really necessary. It is a little distracting, but not a deal-breaker. The rest of the recording is excellent.

Excellent

Well told and detailed. When you read it you are learning through the lens of the big players of the time about a subject often taught quite differently. Only complaint is that I wish Ms. Schlaes narrated the books herself. I love how passionately she speaks in interviews I’ve listened to and would enjoy hearing her tell it!

A Deeper Telling

A deeper look at The New Deal and the personalities of the FDR cabinet. Very good history and good listening.

Good historical view of the time period.

Told from the perspective of the time. Helps with understanding that challenges what I heard growing up. Recommended.

informative but dry

Has a bunch of info, but hard to follow at points because of the very dry manner in which the writing presents it.

A well balanced journey through a difficult time

I loved the story and perspective, balanced and fair. If any viewpoint came out, it was for classical liberalism. What a refreshing insight into the political aspect of muddling through the depression, and in a way, making it infamously great.

Great.

Now I understand why it took 8+ years to get out of the Depression. FDR did almost everything wrong.

Outstanding book on The Great Depression!

This is an excellent treatment of The Great Depression. Ms. Shlaes documents this time period from Coolidge through Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In my mind, hers is the definitive treatment of this time period in American history. Anyone interested in knowing why our government intrudes into every aspect of our lives will find many of the answers here. In my opinion FDR wrought incredible damage to our country with all the New Deal legislation he promoted. Ms. Shlaes begins with a story of depression in this country, then she deftly "pulls back the curtain" to reveal that THIS depression occurred late in FDR's term of office.

Sadly, the only thing that truly lifted America out of The Great Depression was WWII, in the sense that employment reached full capacity, etc. Far from being considered one of America's greatest presidents, I think he ranks as one of our worst presidents, perhaps, the worst president in that he crafted and guided the "takeover" of all our lives by the US government. It is almost impossible to go through a day and not encounter some aspect of our lives that is not regulated by the government. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has almost arrived! The government HAS done some good things, e.g. a military which has protected us, regulations about food and drugs, etc. So government is totally malevolent, but it has carried laws and regulations to the extreme.

I highly recommend this very readable, fascinating book.

Very Informative.

I found the book very informative. I was also surprised at how poorly thought out some of their initiatives were.