Why the New Deal Matters

Rauchway . . . is one of the most learned and nimble analysts of the New Deal. -Michael Kazin, The Nation Rauchway's aim in this concise, eloquent book is not to provide a full accounting-other works are more comprehensive-but to immerse us in the New Deal, to take us on a tour of its impact and legacy with examples from across the country. -Max Harris, Times Literary Supplement Rauchway succeeds in making the case that Roosevelt's domestic programme created a legacy in a wide range of areas that has persisted to the present day. -Matthew Partridge, Money Week An impressive and accomplished work by one of our master historians that sheds new light on the New Deal by offering some place-based perspectives on why it matters. -Lawrence B. Glickman, author of Free Enterprise: An American History The New Deal was America's response to the gravest economic and social crisis of the 20th century. It now serves as a source of inspiration for how we should respond to the gravest crisis of the 21st. There's no more fluent and informative a guide to that history than Eric Rauchway, and no one better to describe the capacity of government to transform America for the better. -Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley Eric Rauchway, one of the best historians ever to write about the New Deal, has crafted a work here that is a must-read for those who've read nothing about the New Deal before, those who've read everything about it, and anyone in between. With timeless prose and timely arguments, Why the New Deal Matters powerfully connects that era to our own. -Kevin M. Kruse, Princeton University