I have completed reading the book, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, by Amity Shales. A wonderful read, the book provides an analysis of the great depression heavy on facts and figures, truths and consequences, and little on the “Roosevelt is God” visions that I have become accustomed to. Because of this, it is obviously condemned by liberals and courted by conservatives. It shouldn’t necessarily be loved or hated by either based on politics, as it is light on that, but rather enjoyed as a source of information on a time that is eerily similar to our own.

The fact that we are going through great economic upheaval today is enough to draw comparisons while reading. The fact that Ben Bernanke is an obsessive student of this time is enough to form suspicions that could not have entered into the mind when the book was being written. Let me just say I had more than a few “that sounds strikingly familiar” chill up the spine moments while reading.

I am still processing some of the book, still thinking about what is there that can be used to understand today. So if worth from a book is what you take from it and how it makes your mind think in new directions, this book definitely has value. It can be dry, it has heavy emphasis on facts and staging, it is hard to argue that it is in fact a repudiation of the perception of the Depression given on campus. The book does have a point of view, whether that is simply to reveal the facts that have been locked away with the hope of creating a new vision or something more. Regardless and perhaps because of all that, I highly recommend.