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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal (The Politically Incorrect Guides) » User review

Another book they hope you don't read

  • Jun 8, 2009
Rating:
+3
When I reviewed Bob Murphy's The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Capitalism almost precisely two years ago, I said it was a shame that book was needed as badly as it is. Ironclad proof of how right I was then is how badly Murphy's new book about the Great Depression and the New Deal is needed today. Taken in concert with Thomas Woods' invaluable Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse, recommended by Murphy as "A book you're not supposed to read," you have the solid economic and historical case against what the government-media-academic complex tells us must be done to pull the economy out of recession.

The "Politically Incorrect Guide" series seldom breaks new ground in argument or research. What they do, often extremely well, is bring together facts and theory in a way that's accessible for the reader who, in this case, may not be an advanced student of economics, or who has only heard the government-approved textbook version of American history. "'Most everybody knows," after all, that the New Deal "got us out of the Depression," while others may be apt to reply that, no, it was really World War Two that got us out. Murphy says neither argument is correct, and he brings the facts and history to back it up.

Two or three years ago, this would have been primarily a book about principles and theory. Today, though, it's a a book about principles and practical application, and of course extremely timely in its focus. Of the two, I think "Meltdown" is frankly the better book -- more comprehensively argued and more persuasive in that it's more closely tied to today's context. Understanding the historical foundation is critical, however, and this volume is an excellent way to develop that understanding. It is, itself, "a book you're not supposed to read," which makes it almost essential that you DO read it.

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About the reviewer
Andrew S. Rogers ()
Ranked #391
Mostly, I'm a moderately prolific Amazon.com reviewer who's giving Lunch a try as another venue for my reviews.
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About this book

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Read this book and understand why massively increasing government is not change we can believe in. --Congressman Ron Paul--This text refers to theAudio Cassetteedition.
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Tags

Books, American History, Economics, Economic History, Great Depression, Mises Institute, Franklin Roosevelt, Roosevelt
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Details

ISBN-10: 1596980966
ISBN-13: 978-1596980969
Author: Robert Murphy
Genre: History
Publisher: Regnery Press
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"Another book they hope you don't read"
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