Depression Books

In the tradition of Angela's Ashes, this wonderfully evocative book is a joyful journey back into an ordinary man's past which reveals that no one's past is really ordinary. Mathias' description of his boyhood in a small Kentucky town is a vivid microcosm of pre-World War II America. The author's affectionate parents are still wedded to their Victorian upbringing, while Frank and his young friends are treading a rocky path between the idealism of the nineteenth century and the exciting unknowns of a new era. His portraits of local characters such as incorruptible high school principal Everett Earl "Fanny" Pfanstiel, and his own father, "Lucky" Mathias (addicted to championship prizefights on the new Crosley radio) are both touching and hilarious! A deeply satisfying glimpse into our collective past by a gifted history professor...

Mathias' childhood was poised on the edge of cataclysm. Of course, the portents of this coming storm were little noticed by Mathias and his pals; they were far too busy stealing watermelons (by floating them downriver), exploring abandoned privys (with dire consequences) and tramping the countryside of their 20-mile-wide bit of the planet. With a fluid and often hilarious narrative Mathias lets us live as a child of the 1930's. His writing has that "ring of truth" which amplifies the humor and poignancy of the tales he tells. He never forgot how ten-year-olds view the world. A delightful, engrossing, touching memoir giving much needed context to the lives of those who gave the supreme sacrifice. Highly recommended.

"Glorified Chicken Coops" leaves little to exaggeration when explaining the story of author Tanya Cole's family history and their conditions living in the Great Depression. A compelling cast of characters follows her family they try to claw their way through the muck blocking them from the American dream. A thoroughly entertaining family history, "Glorified Chicken Coops" is a top pick for anyone interested in Depression era living and community library American history and memoir collections.

Glorified Chicken Coops is a wonderful book about a real Okie family. It reminds me of stories my dad would tell about his growing up experiences and as one of the brothers of Hub Cole, I know they had a hard life, sometimes having only cornmeal mush to eat. This book gives a view into how people with little education or street smarts managed to survive and raise a family under the most difficult conditions imaginable. If you had any family from Okla. who grew up in the 20's and 30's this book is for you. I had to put it down at times because it broke my heart, but I would pick it up again to find out what was coming next. The only criticism I have is that it isn't longer.

I highly recommend this book for family members of people with depression. It is beautifully written and provides valuable insight into what your loved one may be experiencing.

This is a fantastic book for everyone to look within themselves and learn from the authors life experiences. Each time I have read it I get even more out of it. All MD's and those in the medical field ahould order two of these books. One for themselves and one for their staff to share. Excellent!

I purchased this book for my father's 70th birthday...it was the most excited I have ever seen him about a present. My dad grew up down the street from the author and many references in the book are about our family and the places where my dad grew up. He finished the book in days...he couldn't put it down! I plan to read it next.

I was refered this book by the grandaughter of the author, and although she didn't say go and read it, she told me about it, and it sounded VERY interesting. I went out a few days later, and I borrowed the book from the library. I stayed up all night reading, and I wished that I could just keep reading and reading, and never finish the book.

This book is called Goodbye Walter Malinski. By: Helen Recorvtits. This story takes place in a small town in America. The time of this story takes place in 1934. The season of this town is winter.

Some of the characters in this story are, Walter, Wanda, and Pa. Pa can get cruel a lot. Walter is the finest brother in America. Wanda also is a nice sister. Walter is 16 years old. He also likes to do stuff dangerous. Wanda loves to dance a lot with her mom. The problem in this story is that Pa loses his job and doesn't have a lot of money. Pa also gets angry with Walter a lot.

My favorite part of this story is at the end because it shocks me. The story starts when pa loses his job. I actually like this book. I loved the author because she gave a lot of background and detail. I also liked the illustrator because it had a lot of exiting pictures. I would recommend this book to a friend because it was thrilling and the author wrote a lot of exiting things in it.

The book Goodbye Walter Malinski is a wonderful example of how a poor, Polish famiy survived in America during the Great Depression. It also displays how a family coped with the loss of a loved one. This is a book that is short and sweet. My opinion of this book is very high, but to discover the exiting events you must read it your self.

Good flow, really holds your interest. No extraneous information to read, right to the guts of the story. Very enjoyable....

Grand View presents a literary buffet in Wayman Redden's tale. Readers with eclectic tastes will enjoy the intermingling of mystery, romance, history, and intrigue. Perhaps as importantly, those who may not care for all of these genres will not feel bogged down in brushes with any of them. Who knows, Hancock may even convert them to the wonders of beyond their normal scope of reading.

Books were in excellent condition, delivery was excellent also. I am very happy with Amazon.com
John M Moffat sr.

This best single volume on the effects of the Great Depression that I have found. The author has focused on the individual human element more than the economic, political, and intellectual elements (though he does give a good summary of these also.) Most of the book is composed of actual newspaper and magazine articles from the period, as well as testimony given before Congress. There are actual interviews with representaive families done by researchers while the Depression was still dragging on.

The first section: "Crash!" The interesting part here is how Republicans of the time refused to admit that anything was wrong. The Hoover adminstration did little or nothing to help people when jobs, savings, and investments evaporated- even though malutrition and starvation were appearing. The shock of the people at the end of what they were told was a never-ending New Era of Prosperity is well expressed.

The second section: "The Farmer in the Depression." It is made clear that most farmers were in a depression all through the twenties. When banks started foreclosing in the 30's they started radical action on their own.

The third section: "America's Shame: The Crisis of Relief." This section shows just how haphazard and inadequate local relief efforts were. There was more widespread malnutrition- and actual starvation- than the powers-that-be ever admitted.

The fourth section: "Nomads of the Depression." The number of people roaming the land to find some kind of work was staggering. The section on boy and girl tramps is especially enlightening. So is the piece on the "vagrant civil engineer"- anyone could find themselves homeless- though that term wasn't in use yet.

The fifth section: "The Depression and Education." Most people do not realise that many public school disticts either drastically shortened or entirely cancelled school terms because no property taxes were being collected. Teachers worked for long periods with no pay- and fed their students out of their own pockets.

The sixth section: "Will there be a Revolution?" There are some really perceptive pieces here as to why we didn't have violent revolution in the U.S. The consensus of the people was always that the "Roosevelt Revolution" saved the nation.

The seventh section: "Some case histories." Here you have actual case studies from some representative families that show you exactly how they coped when earnings, savings, and relief ran out.

The author points out that even when he was putting this book together in 1960 people were forgetting- deliberately trying to forget- the suffering of the Great Depression. There had already been an entire generation that had never known Hard Times. That's why he wrote the book. It comes across just how much these times changed and toughened the people who came through them. Reading their stories, I felt proud of them.

I also recognized many simularities between what happened during 1929-1941 and what has happened to the working class and poor since 1973. The prime difference are those measures put in place by Roosevelt and his New Deal (though these safegards are being whittled down more and more every year by the current crop of blind, greedy Republicans in office.)

American childhood in the 1930s became a government policy ideal which was reinforced by cultural changes during the Great Depression, and represented the first period of time in which the federal government provided a legal definition of childhood dependency as extending from birth through age seventeen. Any studying children's rights or American childhood will want to make The Greatest Generation Grows Up: American Childhood In The 1930s a part of their reading reference collection: it details social and political forces which shaped, defined and created new interpretations of childhood and dependency.

Kriste Lindenmeyer has done us a wonderful favor by giving us a portrait of childhood in 1930's America. She looks at many different facets of youth during these turbulent years including child labor, education, consumerism, and how the New Deal affected these youngsters.

Lindenmeyer's book is well written and is an enjoyable read. Her prose is clear & her arguments consise and well thought out. After reading this book, it is easy to see why the decade of the 30's changed childhood forever in America. Before this ten year span, education was of secondary importance, and children were not considered consumers. During the 30's, education became of prime importance to so many, youngsters were seen as consumers that could spark economic growth, and children were removed from the most oppressive labor conditions (i.e. manufacturing & mining).

The author's concluding chapter on the New Deal really struck me as important - it helped me to see where the FDR administration really did try to help the youth of America in addition to the adults who were so negatively impacted by the Great Depression. Formation of the EDC (Emergency Day Centers) for care of toddlers, the NYA (National Youth Administration) to promote education by providing stipends for work, and the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) with its abolition of child labor in most industries were all examples of positive impacts made by the New Deal for America's youth.

She borrows Tom Brokaw's phrase "The Greatest Generation" in describing these youngsters, because most men that went off to war in the 1940's were reared during this economic crisis. A very apt title for very important book.

This is a ver well written book , by a notable french psychologist, it does give a full review of several opportunities to try combat depression and enhance its own well being. A good book to have and read over from time to time.

I found this book at a friend's house and decided to read it. David Servan Shreiber is very famous in France and the little I remembered of him was positive pictures. So I read his book and I'm very happy I did. Very simple things that can help so much. It is good to be reminded of some basics that we tend to forget. I would like my husband to read it but is there a version in English?

This is one of the funnest books I've ever read. It is surprisingly different. Horvath makes fun of religion, would-be intellectuals, kids with dreams, even bed-ridden Uncle Treacle who is hauled around bed and all in the back of a pickup. The people in this book are always on the look-out for ways to cheat each other to fulfill their own dreams. The main character, Betty, is remarkably self-centered (so conceited she reminded me of myself). Underneath all the nastiness, which is tempered with a biting wit, these people are kindly. The characters all have their dreams and in the end all their dreams are validated--Gretel's even comes true. A very upbeat book though it's easy to see that trouble lies ahead. The characters are frightening real and lovable in spite of--maybe because of--their flaws.

Uncanny--I independently came to the same reminiscence as the writer of the BOOKLIST review. Here is what characterizes THE HAPPY YELLOW CAR: raucous slapstick reminiscent of Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main (Ma and Pa Kettle). But it is also so much more.

Polly Horvath's wordsmithery glows with a warmth that is precisely and charmingly choreographed much like an Astaire and Rogers routine. What adverbs! What picturesque description!

In this "fractured" fairy tale, the wacky Grunt family in depression era, rural Missouri provides a touching opportunity to reflect on the vitality of goalsetting as well as to be thankful for the occasions when you can encounter the Aunt Lollys of the world in print versus in person!

Polly Horvath is so much fun! I'm working my way back to her earlier books while I await the release this year (2005) of a book to be entitled, THE VACATION!

* The simile is Polly Horvath's and occurs
in chapter 5 of THE HAPPY YELLOW CAR.