Finished! This is not a quick read but it is excellent. Amity Shlaes wrote this prescient book in 2006. It is eery to read about depressed home values, anti-Wall Street sentiment, tax increases, increased government, job loss, and it all takes place in the 1930's.
Shlaes gives interesting details about the personalities of the men and women who influenced FDR. She describes the policies put in place that expanded government and alienated business covering 1927 through 1940 without too many statistics. I never realized how individual businessmen were mercilessly targeted by the Depart of Justice. This included Andrew Mellon who gave our country the National Gallery of Art.
(Mellon was an interesting duck--I am going to find a good biography about him.)
The forgotten man is the man who works hard to stay off government assistance but continues to get stuck with the bill bailing out everyone else. Regardless of your opinion about our current economic situation and government policies this is worth reading and thinking about.
Thanks, I'll put it on my list. Sounds interesting. Have a good trip.
ReplyDeleteWow! I was interested before, but even more so now! Thanks, Kim.
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