HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Great Depression : a diary by Benjamin…
Loading...

The Great Depression : a diary (edition 2009)

by Benjamin Roth, James Ledbetter, Daniel B. Roth

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1824148,574 (3.5)2
When the stock market crashed in 1929, Benjamin Roth was a young lawyer in Youngstown, Ohio. After he began to grasp the magnitude of what had happened to American economic life, he decided to set down his impressions in his diary. This collection of those entries reveals another side of the Great Depression--one lived through by ordinary, middle-class Americans, who on a daily basis grappled with a swiftly changing economy coupled with anxiety about the unknown future. Roth's depiction of life in time of widespread foreclosures, a schizophrenic stock market, political unrest and mass unemployment seem to speak directly to readers today.… (more)
Member:jwm24
Title:The Great Depression : a diary
Authors:Benjamin Roth
Other authors:James Ledbetter, Daniel B. Roth
Info:New York : PublicAffairs, c2009.
Collections:Your library, Review Copies
Rating:
Tags:History, United States, 20th Century, Great Depression

Work Information

The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 2 mentions

Showing 4 of 4
Not for the faint of heart. Don’t read it if you’re worried about the economy.
This book is a bit like the Great Depression itself: the reader starts out feeling optimistic; however both the events and the writing rapidly deteriorate. The situation doesn’t seem to end until the last page of the book.
I’ve especially had an overdose of the sentence “business has come to a complete standstill”.
Although it’s not a particular pleasant read, it is an interesting book that teaches a few important lessons on the dangers of speculation. ( )
  jd7h | Feb 18, 2024 |
Who was Benjamin Roth?
He was a lawyer, his wife a piano teacher. Although he looked forward to retirement, he never did.

The diaries.
In 1978 he handed his son 14 handwritten notebooks ranging from 1931 to 1978. This book goes up to 1941, when the second world war ended the depression.

Why did he write the diary?
He was determined to learn as much as possible about economic issues to understand what brought on The Great Depression and how to survive if there was another one. His writings ask the central question of how should an honest person create wealth, protect it, and build it throughout a lifetime?

What does the diary cover?
The book's perspective is finance and politics, not so much about his personal life through the depression.

Before the crash.
During the Roaring 20s, everyone thought the "New Era" would never end, so signs that started showing their face in 1924 were missed. "The air was full of warnings…." Investment scams were abundant. Stocks were rated at 20 to 40 times their value. Yet, leaders kept assuring people everything was fine.

After the crash.
Nobody had any money. Panic ensued. Suicide and bankruptcy became the order of the day. Banks closed. Depositors demanded their money, but very few got it. From 1929 to 1931, the jobless number grew to 8 million. Dabbling in socialism, President Roosevelt instituted government-sponsored jobs, but recovery attempts fizzled out.

What can be culled from the diary?
1. "Pump priming" and other economic interventions did not work well. So capitalism had to work things out naturally.
2. Since investments tanked and "cash was king," having a "liquidity" source should be incorporated in a protection plan. A certain amount of cash, bonds, and other liquid securities should be set aside for a crisis.
3. Not too much capital should be risked on one particular strategy.
4. Deal only with well-seasoned investments.
5. Buy stocks outright, not on margin.

Note: The above are Roth's impressions. They are not recommendations from me. ( )
  Norinski | Aug 30, 2021 |
A somewhat interesting book which gives you an insiders view on depression life. But reading someone else's diary is also somewhat tedious. So only recommended for the truly serious student if finance. ( )
  jvgravy | Dec 25, 2014 |
Very interesting perspective of the times, but only as it relates to business and US politics. He gives very little about his personal struggles and his family.
Enjoyed comparing to things now- not so different! ( )
  dichosa | Jan 16, 2013 |
Showing 4 of 4
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

When the stock market crashed in 1929, Benjamin Roth was a young lawyer in Youngstown, Ohio. After he began to grasp the magnitude of what had happened to American economic life, he decided to set down his impressions in his diary. This collection of those entries reveals another side of the Great Depression--one lived through by ordinary, middle-class Americans, who on a daily basis grappled with a swiftly changing economy coupled with anxiety about the unknown future. Roth's depiction of life in time of widespread foreclosures, a schizophrenic stock market, political unrest and mass unemployment seem to speak directly to readers today.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.5)
0.5
1
1.5
2 2
2.5
3 4
3.5
4 4
4.5
5 2

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

PublicAffairs

An edition of this book was published by PublicAffairs.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,239,983 books! | Top bar: Always visible