An aphoristic essay which repudiates the tiresome myths of the American economy of the 1930s. Serious historians and scholars hold a consensus with the way the events are portrayed here. Reed quotes a number of prominent economists, historians, and journalists of the past and present including: Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, Robert Higgs, H. L. Mencken, John T. Flynn, Thomas DiLorenzo, Jim Powell, et al. While it obviously cannot expound on the entirety of the Great Depression in its laconic presentation, this essay offers plenty of main concepts and factoids to explore further in other works. Reading this will give you a great overview of what went wrong in the early 20th century, how we continue to make similar mistakes, and how we could possibly avoid them.