Yoo Hoo Prosperity: The Eddie Cantor Five-Year Plan

by Eddie Cantor

Originally published in 1931 by Simon & Schuster, this comic look at the woes of the Great Depression are suddenly very relevant again. It's a 56-page book that will lift your spirits like nothing else.

55 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1992

About the author

Edward "Eddie" Cantor born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964 was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author.

Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era and was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1956 for distinguished service to the film industry.

Reviews

[Bryan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book of about 50 large print pages which is a follow up to Caught Short. It was published in 1931 and gives Eddie Cantor's views on how to solve the Depression. It reads like a stand-up comedy routine, which it probably was and provides solutions such as World Prohibition, nominating the Marx Brothers for Attorneys General, and defines Prosperity as the time right before an election. A quick read, fun little book.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cantor lampoons the Hoover administration’s response to the Depression by providing his own plan for economic prosperity, an ironic parody of the administration's unsuccessful one. Mellon and the Cabinet get the sharpest of Cantor's barbs. (The Glossary in the back defines “Cabinet” as “a hollow thing made of wood.”) While Hoover kept claiming that “Prosperity is just around the corner,” Cantor announces from the outset that it may be around the corner, but he doesn’t know the street. (The risqué title page cartoon portrays “Prosperity” as a less-than-wholesome woman on her “corner” in a dicey part of town…) This one is steeped in early-30s pop culture, so readers who get the social and political references will love the one-liners like these: “For Secretary of the Interior -- Chic Sale. Because he’s a specialist in that field.” “The only solvent bank-head I know -- Tallulah.” If you get the Chic Sale joke, you'll enjoy this one.

[zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If we could only get rid of prosperity and have a good old-fashioned panic, it would suit us fine.”