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jachso's review against another edition
4.0
Superb deep dive into Hoover's actions, very easily dispels the lie that laissez-faire capitalism led to and propelled on the Great Depression. Must read for someone interested in this subject. Small warning: Rothbard and Johnson are exceedingly thorough in some parts, especially when they list out supporters of injurious policies. This leads to several paragraph-long sentences as they Mark of Rothbard every scummy, self-serving politician, economist, clergyman, and businessman our there. Nearly a century has passed since these ne'er-do-wells walked the earth, and so these lists provide as much use as Tolkien's rambling out elven names in the Simarillon.
taborszki's review against another edition
5.0
It really makes me sad that the book ends before the New Deal begins. I would have given an arm... or perhaps a pinky to read a rothbardian analysis of the New Deal, but I suppose that was done by the next generation of Austrians (Bob Murphy did it). At any rate, the book consists of two parts, theory and history. The part on theory sets forth the austrian business cycle theory and dismantles just about every criticism ever raised. It's about a hundred pages and it's mandatory reading for anyone who wants to understand the cause of economic depressions. I didn't care much about the history part but Rothbard demonstrates though hundreds of pages why Hoover's administration was anything but laissez faire.
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