I can think of no better way to continue on with last week’s session of quotes than to use the opening paragraphs from the book itself.
If you are a typical American, you learned that the 1920’s were a period of wildcat speculation, where the little guy was at the mercy of unregulated big business. You learned that the excesses of naked capitalism led to a great stock market crash, an horrific economic contraction, and skyrocketing unemployment. You learned that Herbert Hoover did nothing to alleviate the crisis, merely gazing coolly from his White House office as the laissez-faire market economy collapsed upon itself. You learned that the American people demanded government help and voted overwhelmingly for Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose stirring words provided hope and whose revolutionary programs provided recovery. Finally, to the extent that your education deviated from the above account, you learned it was World War II, not FDR, that actually pulled the United States out of the Great Depression.
Every single element of this official narrative is utterly false, and any honest researcher who bothered to check his primary sources would have known it. But most historians know nothing about economics, and most economists know little about history.
Robert P. Murphy – The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal
I was not kidding when I said that this is a great resource and a good purchase. They are set up almost as textbooks, fully footnoted and sourced. Do yourself a favor and get one.