Product Description

Drawing upon recent economic scholarship to present a clear and nontechnical analysis, Mr. Smiley offers new insights and some surprising conclusions about the causes of the Great Depression, the consequences of the New Deal, and the economic effects of World War II. An accessible survey...challenges the popular belief that the Great Depression demonstrates the instability of markets and the need for goevernment oversight and direction. --Journal of Economic Literature. A widely accessible and clearly written summary of the main causes of the Great Depression and its legacy for economic policy. --David C. Wheelock, EH.Net

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #284393 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-21
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .49 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From Booklist
Smiley, an academic, revisits the Great Depression, the period from 1929 until 1933 that had such a slow recovery that the whole decade of the 1930s is often considered the Depression. Armed with increasingly sophisticated analytical techniques, the author sets out to survey the 1930s so that readers without training in economics have a better understanding of the forces at work during this period. In his view, the Great Depression prompted growing intellectual fascination with socialist economic ideas and precipitated World War II, which in turn led to the spread of communism worldwide. This era gave rise to Keynesian macroeconomics, which explained the Depression and advised how to get out of it and is now mainstream economic analysis. Smiley contends that "in many ways the Great Depression was the defining moment for 20th Century America." Mary Whaley
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Review
A remarkable achievement...Smiley has succeeded in presenting a brief, fact-rich account...in clear, nontechnical prose. (Robert Higgs )

An insightful, well-written survey...the author weaves an engaging narrative...impressive and accessible.... Recommended. (Library Journal )

Gene Smiley's explanation of the Great Depression benefits from his expertise in banking and the international gold standard. (Schweikart, Larry )

Short in length but long on insight...a masterful account.... It will be required reading. (Richard Vedder )

A serious second look at the New Deal that historians will ignore at their peril. (Hamby, Alonzo L. )

A brief and provocative account.... Smiley knows the current literature well, and makes good use of it in his analysis. (Virginia Quarterly Review )

This is a careful, systematic review of literature on the Great Depression, not a once over treatment.... The book is well written, strives for comprehensiveness and balance... (The Journal Of Economic History )

Economist Smiley...has produced...a slim and readable volume...in language that should be clear and understandable to students. (Choice )

Incorporates the findings of recent scholarship into an accessible survey of the economic events of the 1930s... (Journal Of Economic Literature )

...Economic historian Gene Smiley has performed a valuable service for all readers, academic and general.... A concise description of the economic influences and course of the Great Depression... (Liberty )

The author writes in a clear, engaging, and jargon-free style and does a good job of outlining the key events of the perios for onspecialists. Provides a handy introduction to the Great Depression. (The Historian )

…An engaging, balanced, and perceptive short book…. Smiley brilliantly describes this tragedy and its long-term consequences. (Claremont Review Of Books )

...A book of equal value both to laypersons and to professional economists.... Well written. (Jim F. Couch Public Choice )

…A slender but engaging volume, one approachable by the nonspecialist. (Business History Review )

From the Publisher
Synthesizing new economic research of recent decades, the author offers new insights and some surprising conclusions about the Great Depression.