The “Great Depression” is the talk of the town, and there are no shortage of books on the topic. In fact, great depression books are making their way up the ranks on the Amazon top selling charts. Here are a few.


A Bubble That Broke The World is one of the newest on the list, released in June 2008, and written by Garet Garrett. It is a short read with chapters on the anatomy of the bubble, saving Europe, rescuing Germany, the gold invention and book of the debts.  It was originally published in 1932, but was republished last year due to strong interest and demand.  From Amazon, “This book presents a cosmology of a mass delusion which affects the mentality of the world. This takes place following World War I where the Federal Reserve System, for the first time, allowed flexible currency.”

The Panic of 1907 was written by Robert Bruner and published in 1907, as a 100 year dedication to the book’s subject.  From Publishers Weekly, “The chronicle follows one speculator’s attempt to corner the copper market, which leads to panic, the failure of banks and trusts and the impending bankruptcy of New York City.”  (Geldpress comment:  AIG is now failing because of one man’s stupid attempt to insure reckless lending and borrowing in the mortgage market).

The Forgotten Man was written by Amity Shales and last published in 2008.  It’s now available in paperbook for less than $10, and worth a dedicated spot on everyone’s bookshelf.  As of today, it’s Amazon sales rank is 79! From the booklist review on Amazon,

…a prominent conservative economics journalist, considers why a decade of government intervention ameliorated but never tamed it. With vitality uncommon for an economics history, Shlaes chronicles the projects of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt as well as these projects’ effect on those who paid for them. Reminding readers that the reputedly do-nothing Hoover pulled hard on the fiscal levers (raising tariffs, increasing government spending), Shlaes nevertheless emphasizes that his enthusiasm for intervention paled against the ebullient FDR’s glee in experimentation.