Second World War. His title is misleading. "The American People" are not the emphasis of this well-written overview. Instead, Kennedy examines the policies of Hoover and to a much greater extent FDR. Roosevelt, to Kennedy, is the unique individual by which this era need be examined. FDR understood American capitalism's plight. The New Deal pragmatically and repeatedly attempted to stabilize a system gone wrong. These programs were multi-faceted and without a clear goal except for an emphasis on security and stability. While the New Deal may not have pulled America out of its economic doldrums, redistribute national income, or challenge the capitalism's fundamental tenets, it still changed America in other ways. The New Deal provided much needed security (i.e. Social Security). Kennedy's is a highly readable synthesis of Great Depression scholars. Like other historians, Kennedy rightfully downplays any direct connection between the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. The Depression came from a newly, globally connected economy that was doomed to failure since the Treaty of Versailles. Germany's war reparations were too insurmountable to overcome. Trade with other nations slowed. France's desire for post-war humiliation led to German hyper-inflation, national unrest, and little faith in the Weimar government, and ultimately left WWI's European victors hoisted by their own petard. The repercussions were soon felt across the Atlantic as well. In America, the popular president Herbert Hoover has taken much of the blame for the Depression. Kennedy argues otherwise and views Hoover as a tragic figure in the