A Nation in Torment: The Great American Depression, 1929-1939 (Kodansha Globe) [Paperback]

Edward Robb Ellis (Author), Philip Turner (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995 | Series: Kodansha Globe

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 American Depression between 1929 and 1939.

Product Details

• Paperback: 570 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha America (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568361130
• ISBN-13: 978-1568361130
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,411,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Review of the 1930's, March 30, 2001

By 

Michael S. Hoffman "mikemoto1" (Fort Worth, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Nation in Torment: The Great American Depression, 1929-1939 (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly the best book I've read on the Great Depression, May 27, 2010

By 

A. Reader (Boise, Idaho United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Nation in Torment: The Great American Depression, 1929-1939 (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

As it's a fascinating time in history, the Great Depression is one of my favorite eras to read about, and what I think this book does best is to show what was actually happening, talk about ALL the factors involved--stock market crash, bank failures, low wages, speculation--rather than trying to oversimplify as so many books do. Ellis also talks about parts of history that are generally not mentioned--the march on Washington by unpaid ex soldiers, the socialism movement in America, Herbert Hoover as a person and what he thought he was doing--just a much more complete picture of an incredibly complex time without easy answers. Well worth reading.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Nation in Torment - - Again ..., April 1, 2009

By 

jipsii M'Sina "JMS" (Saint Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Nation in Torment: The Great American Depression, 1929-1939 (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

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)