Depression, War, and Cold War

Overview

Offering a powerful interpretation of U.S. political economy from the early-1930s to the end of the Cold War, this resource refutes many popular myths about the Great Depression and New Deal, the World War II economy, and the postwar national-security state that is still so pervasive today. What accounts for the extraordinary duration of the Great Depression? How did the war alter relations between government and leaders of big business? What is Congress’s role in the military-industrial-congressional complex? This book answers these and other crucial questions by presenting new insights and analyses along with statistical evidence that defies mainstream interpretation of economic history.

Reviews

Outstanding Academic Book for 2007, Choice magazine

Social Science Book of the Month, Society Magazine

"Robert Higgs is a contrarian and an iconoclast. He believes that economists and historians have misunderstood U.S. economic history during the middle decades of the 20th century." —American Journal of Sociology

"Thoughtful and detailed criticism." —Hugh T. Rockoff, professor of economics, Rutgers University

"Necessary correctives to the popular and scholarly willingness to remain emotionally invested in erroneous explanations." —Journal of American Studies

"An important book. Those interested in the interaction between the domestic economy, war, and heavily armed peace will find it essential reading." —Paul Johnson, author, Modern Times and A History of the American People

"A real eye opener and bold foray into contemporary political economy."—Richard E. Sylla, Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets, New York University

"Key challenges to both the macromonetary and Keynesian explanations of the American experience in the era of depression and world war." —Journal of Markets & Morality

Author Biography

Robert Higgs is a senior fellow in political economy at the Independent Institute and the editor of Independent Review. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. He is a contributor to LewRockwell.com. He lives in Covington, Louisiana.