Bullfrogs, Bingo, and the Little House on the Prairie: How Innovators of the Great Depression Made the Best of the Worst of Times

by Jason Voiovich

Necessity is the mother of invention. It’s also the father of character.In history class, we’ve been taught that the Great Depression was all about crashing stock markets, snaking breadlines, and ecological disasters. We learned that FDR tried to put it right with the New Deal, but it was only World War II that finally succeeded in revitalizing the American economy. But that’s not the whole story.

The “Greatest Generation” didn’t earn that title by sitting around hoping things would get better. The hard times of the Great Depression led to a surge in innovation that we never learned about in school. Did you know that refrigerator sales spiked during the 1930s? Did you know this was the decade that brought us blockbuster monster movies and animated films? Did you know these were the years many families adopted their first dog? Those are just a handful of the stories you were never taught. This “tapas menu” take on the 1930s shows that bad times create the most surprising outcomes.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 13, 2025

Reviews

[Sarah Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feminist Public Health Practitioner’s Review of Bullfrogs, Bingo, and the Little House on the Prairie by Jason Voiovich

A Provocative Lens on Resilience and Inequity
Voiovich’s exploration of Great Depression-era innovation stirred a visceral reaction in me—a blend of admiration for human ingenuity and frustration at the systemic inequities laid bare by crisis. As a feminist public health practitioner, I found myself reflecting on how marginalized communities, particularly women, navigated scarcity with creativity, even as their contributions were often erased from mainstream narratives. The book’s focus on “making the best of the worst” resonated deeply with contemporary public health ethics, where resourcefulness in the face of structural barriers remains a daily reality for many.

Strengths: Feminist and Public Health Parallels
-Hidden Labor and Innovation: Voiovich highlights how women, people of color, and low-income communities devised survival strategies during the Depression. This aligns with public health’s emphasis on valuing informal care networks and grassroots solutions. However, as a feminist I wished for more explicit analysis of how gender roles shaped access to resources.
- Crisis as a Mirror: The book’s examination of societal collapse and adaptation parallels modern public health crises (e.g., COVID-19), where marginalized groups disproportionately bear the burden. The emotional weight of these sections—especially stories of communal support—left me both heartened and unsettled by how little has changed.
-Narrative as Advocacy: By centering overlooked innovators, the book challenges dominant historical narratives, much like feminist health frameworks challenge patriarchal medical histories.

Constructive Criticism
-Intersectional Gaps: While the book touches on class and ingenuity, it could delve deeper into how race, gender, and disability intersected to shape experiences of the Depression. For example, how did Black women’s innovation differ from white women’s in resource-scarce environments?
-Trauma and Agency: Some passages risk romanticizing resilience without critiquing the systems that forced it. A feminist public health lens would call for more explicit discussion of trauma’s long-term impacts and the need for systemic change alongside individual adaptation.
-Data and Storytelling: As a practitioner, I craved more quantitative data to complement the anecdotes—e.g., statistics on women-led businesses or community health initiatives during the era.

Final Thoughts
A compelling read that bridges history and modern equity struggles, Bullfrogs, Bingo, and the Little House on the Prairie left me reflecting on the parallels between Depression-era innovation and today’s public health challenges. While not a perfect feminist text, its themes of resilience and collective care are vital.

Rating: 4/5 (Insightful and emotionally resonant, with room for deeper intersectional analysis).

Gratitude: Thank you to the publisher for the free copy via Goodreads Giveaways—this review reflects my honest perspective as a feminist public health advocate.

[Wanda Howell-Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining History Lesson

Such a fun and interesting walk through history and how it developed our current society and culture! This is an easy read and you will definitely find something you never knew! Author is a great storyteller! Loved it and this is not a typical book for me!!

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot from this book.

This, was a book that talked about the past. How BINGO originated, and how it was used in the US.
Another story, about the first woman flyer. Not Amelia Earnhardt.
Which supprised.me.
The life of Laura, who wrote Little House on the Prairie.
Lots of interesting information.

[Roger Scherping · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents an entirely different look at the Great Depression. We all know about the stock market crash, the breadlines, and the extreme unemployment, but this book tells us the other side of the story: How people worked hard and figured out what they needed to do to survive. They were creative and innovative, and they changed future generations.

I knew some of this from listening to my parents. My dad told me about attending a one-room schoolhouse. My mom shared what it was like growing up with 14 siblings in a farming community in central Minnesota. She wore dresses made from flour sacks. I got to see the house where she grew up and the very large vegetable garden that my grandmother used to feed her large family. As Jason says, I never got the sense from my parents that they felt desperate or helpless during those difficult times. They were Midwesterners and farmers -- hardworking, self-reliant people.

My favorite chapters were Clearly Magic (Scotch tape) and how one innovation led to the next; Bingo and how an entrepreneur realized the perfect market for his new game; Untoughables and how Ness re-branded Al Capone as "Public Enemy" in order to turn public opinion against him; and really every chapter that took a product that we see today as a fait accompli and walked us backwards through the fascinating process of how it actually came to be.

For a historian, Jason writes in a very conversational style. I had my wife read Bingo, and she said it felt he was just talking to her. The footnotes are frequent and usually amusing but perhaps a bit overdone. I highly recommend Jason's other two books, as well. They are just as well-written, informative, and amusing.

[Kelly Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author has done a superlative job researching the Great Depression. It was surprising to learn how different this book was from those I read and did research for 20th Century Literature and Culture. So many books and articles stressed the abject poverty and the "lifesaving" innovations that the FDR administration enacted. But this book shows that much of the recovery was fueled by the work and innovations of ordinary people.
Learning that it took until the late 30s for the Food and Drug Administration to have any real teeth regarding power and control of the pharmaceutical companies was informative for one who currently waits for new drug trials to allow testing.
If there was anything I disliked it was the little numbers, with the added information at the end of each chapter. I felt much of it could have been added right in the paragraphs. But this is a very minor concern and some of the information was humorous.
Anyone interested in history, especially the Depression era, will find this book very informative.

[Jk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a free kindle copy of this book via a Goodreads Giveaway and would like to thank anyone who had a hand in making that possible!

I have always been fascinated by the Great Depression era so was very interested in this unique book discussing some of the ways that people were able to creatively capitalize upon the times and make a lot of money during a period of penny pinching for most. The author provides a lot of research and very thorough discussions of why and how these innovations/strategies were successful in that particular moment of American history. I learned so many interesting things and also really enjoyed the author's sense of humor!

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this title through Goodreads. I thoroughly enjoyed the subject matter and the way each chapters were divided. I too had grandparents that lived through the depression and the stories told really gave life to the time period we all were taught was dark. This is a quick read and highly recommended for anyone with interest in the time period, American nostalgia, or history in general!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting read on a time you generally only hear about as ‘that awful time with bread lines’. It talks about the resilience of the everyday person and the innovations that happened. Each chapter is different whether how bingo was an influence or flour sacks were important. I would definitely recommend this read.

[AMAO · Rating 5 out of 5]

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