The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America

by T.H. Watkins

It was the worst of times and the best of times. It was an era of unprecedented crisis and a time of unprecedented courage. In a single, comprehensive volume, The Hungry Years tells the story of the Great Depression through the eyes of the people who lived it. Less concerned with the power brokers in Washington than with the daily struggles of ordinary people at the grassroots across America, it draws on little-known oral histories, memoirs, local press, and scholarly monographs to capture the voices of men and women in a time of extreme crisis. The result is a richly detailed narrative that traces the stages of the disaster chronologically without losing touch with the personal wounds it inflicted or the ways in which people responded.

Humane and compassionate, brilliantly researched, full of story and anecdote, The Hungry Years puts the reader at the very heart of the maelstrom that was the American depression.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, 20th Century

608 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this has some good information, I didn't really care for it. I drove me crazy that things were not in chronological order, and the author was obsessed with the rise of the unions and using quotes that had curse words in them. He also spent some time (though not a huge amount) basically saying how stupid the conservatives were for sticking to there principles.

I wouldn't recommend this book for those looking for a balanced view of the time.

[Rosanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I read 325 pages, and I'm of the feeling that that's how long the book should hae been, so I'm just ignoring the last two hundred pages. It seems like no matter how oftern I read the history of the era, I will never be able to keep all the agencies straight in my head. And since I caught Watkins misrepresenting an area I know something of -- thanks to Emilie -- my trust in him was diminished.

[Lenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too long and slow moving. Could only get thru half of it.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an absolutely fantastic work of scholarly, well-researched narrative history. Watkins speaks in an authoratative voice that is well cited and supported by countless documents and books of research. This book is an absolutely fantastic narrative history of the Great Depression in America, with great emphasis on social, political, economic, and labor history. Watkins' emphasis on and attention to labor history is of much significance to me. He devotes large portions of the book to the important role of the working class and farmers during this time. He explains the confusion, rebellion, and massive societal changes that went on at all laevels of American society, from the very top to the very bottom.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book was strongest when it told the stories of individuals enmeshed in the traumas of the Great Depression. Though Watkins states at the beginning that it isn't a history of the New Deal, there's a lot of material about government efforts to alleviate the depression. After a while, all the bureaucratic wrangling became tiresome. Still, it does an admirable job when it delves into the suffering of individuals, and the efforts they made to change their fates. He also includes quite a lot of material on the experiences of black Americans (particularly share croppers), though any substantial discussion of the role of women and the impact on them is mostly relegated to the epilogue.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an extensively researched book. There is a wealth of knowledge contained between these covers. The enormous personal toll of the Great Depression is explained in heart breaking detail: homelessness, starvation, the loss of hope. I never realized how far our country had fallen before the climb back to greatness began.

This is not a chatty personal story book, rather it is a finely tuned analysis of an event that forever changed the United States. There are lessons here for all our leaders political and financial and the people who appoint and elect them.

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having watched the OPB documentaries about public works nationally, and then locally for Oregon; I wanted to read more about the era; clearly written also for lay-persons; no need to be a historian to get something from this book.
Just musing: the wheel has already been created; what are we waiting for to give our economy a new start?

[Larsenross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very readable. Examines the farm history of the Great Depression. Excellent description of what the government did to help people during these years.

A couple of pages described the efforts of Milo Reno, a farm organizer.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything writen about the Great Depression. This was one of my favorites from that group though. This is partially informative with some statistics and facts about the time, but it is also an oral narrative from people who lived to tell the tale.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depression. Disappointing.