Dark realities

Following the First World War, the United States entered a prosperous decade of jazz, Hollywood and a stock market that kept rising under Presidents Harding and Coolidge. Europe, by contrast, struggled to pay its war debts, and the Treaty of Versailles pushed Germany into severe economic crisis. When Herbert Hoover took office, American share prices kept climbing, although some investors pulled out, anticipating trouble.

The October 1929 collapse plunged America into a deep depression, bringing bank failures, factory closures, rural hardship and widespread joblessness, along with protests, strikes and riots. Hoover lost power in 1932 to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who introduced a series of pioneering programmes known as the New Deal to restore the nation's fortunes.

The book traces this unsettled era, profiling its leading figures and showing how the Great Depression affected ordinary Americans. Written for GCSE, AS and A level history students, it offers a clear, accessible overview of the period.