The Great Depression - A Diary, by Benjamin Roth. I decided it was time to learn something about the Great Depression, and this book is what I went with. Roth was a lawyer in Youngstown, Ohio. From the market crash in 1929 he started to write a diary. His entries describe the local, domestic and international events. Observations range from the shopping habits of everyday people, stock market movements, political news, and everything in between. Over the span of the book he paints a vivid picture about what life was like in America from 1929 to the conflict of WW2 reaching Hawaii. Roth continued to make diary entries for the rest of his life, but this book doesn't cover that latter timeframe.
Reading about the severity of The Great Depression was shocking. I hadn't studied anything about that period of history, and my encounter with this first-hand look at it was revealing. The levels of scarcity, unemployment, and malnutrition were hard to imagine. The fortunes that many people lost along the way were equally horrifying. This book sheds light on a lot of details and challenges of the time.
While reading this book I reflected upon the challenges faced in our present time. Here in Australia we have many people struggling with the cost of living, and a lack of affordable housing. And as tough as things are these days, they pale in comparison to what life was like during The Great Depression. In a way, it was comforting to read the book, knowing that life these days could be an awful lot worse.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to read about The Great Depression. It might also appeal to diary or journal enthusiasts. This book provides a view of world changing events, but through the eyes of the individual.
Final score: 4 / 5
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