A Nation in Torment: The Great American Depression, 1929-1939

by Edward Robb Ellis

Book Overview

International in scope, this series of non-fiction trade paperbacks offers books that explore the lives, customs and thoughts of peoples and cultures around the world. This is the story of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568361130
• ISBN13: 9781568361130
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Kodansha
• Length: 572 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Nation in Torment - - Again ...

This profoundly absorbing, and infuriating, anecdotal history of America in the Depression is lush with historical information about, and prophetic warning of, what can go wrong when the rules are dropped and all are left to their own consciences. It is devastating to learn, not only what this nation allowed and sank to, but that we again began down that same road the moment Reagan uttered the word, "Deregulation." This is a deeply aching object lesson that those of Reagan's ilk should have known better, that those of both Bush's should have heeded, but smugly flew in the face of. This should be required reading for every high school Junior, and for every citizen of the world. It lays out the step-by-step trajectory of what brought us to where we are now, explaining what can and does go wrong when souls are sold without regard for the cost. I cannot recommend this highly enough if you want to learn what not to do or allow; if you want to understand how we got where we are, and how we should and should not conduct ourselves as a nation, as citizens, as world dwellers, and as human beings. A Nation in Torment: The Great American Depression 1929-1939 (Kodansha Globe)

Comprehensive Review of the 1930's

Ellis kept a running diary for most of his adult life. He culls much interesting information from this source as well as several better known authors in painting a vivid picture of what happened in America starting in 1929 and why. This is not to say that the book does not have some flaws. For one thing Ellis has a tendency of placing trivial comments such as "Rexford Tugwell was quite the handsomest New Dealer of them all" which frankly could have been better left unsaid. However, some of his historical information, particularly his chapter on the National Recovery Act, entitled the Blue Eagle, are well researched and very easy to read. I also like the opening chapter on the death of the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (now the site of the Empire State Building). This is an excellent juxtaposition considering that this event took place in the infamous year of 1929 and happened on May Day to boot.