The New Deal and the 1929 Stock Crash

[erpowers]

Does anyone know any good books about the New Deal and the 1929 stock market crash? I am interested in reading about both; however, I do not know where to look for good books.

[shraby]

1. Go to your library and pick out the older

books on the subject..ones less apt to be rewriting history.

[Captain Hilts]

2. I would read something by Rex Tugwell.

He was a Columbia prof that worked for FDR when he was Gov. and Prez.

He's written one of the best one volume bios of FDR: The Democratic Roosevelt.

He's also written more policy-centered books.

[maui9002]

3. The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter

Just got through reading it and have been recommending to friends. Has lots of "gee, I didn't know that" stories, such as, for instance:

1. FDR was Reagan's hero; Reagan patterned much of his speaking style after FDR's (and one of Reagan's last acts as President was to complete the FDR memorial).

2. FDR was a very unlikely candidate for President, yet turned out to be a magnificent leader, not because he had great ideas, but because he had the innate capacity to restore hope and convince the country that better times were ahead.

3. He apparently was not faithful to his wife, yet relied on Eleanor heavily as his "ambassador" to the working class, women, and others who were not part of the power structure; many of policies, and much of his popularity, was due to her people skills.

4. FDR's inaugural address (the "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" speech) was delivered during the banking panic of 1933, when banks in all 48 states were closed; his first "fireside chat", a medium "invented" by FDR and delivered about a week later, did much to restore confidence in the banking system; in fact, the author credits one line from that talk, "I can assure you that it is safer to keep your money in a reopened bank than under the mattress," as key to the reversal of withdrawals to deposits and the restoration of confidence in the banking system.

5. FDR told many lies for political purposes; not so much to save his own skin, but because he felt it necessary for the greater good.

6. If FDR were a candidate today, he might be considered a DLC type of candidate. Despite his affinity for the working class, and support for programs like social security, he was a fiscal conservative and immediately cut benefits for veterans when he first came into office to balance the budget.