Synopsis

Anthony Badger's notably successful history is not simply another narrative of the New Deal, nor does the figure of Franklin Roosevelt loom as large in his account as in some others. What Mr. Badger does so well is to consider important aspects of New Deal activity -- in industry, organized labor, agriculture, welfare, and politics -- and to explore the major problems in assessing the history of each. His book establishes a new standard of interpretation of Roosevelt's New Deal.

Library Journal

An interpretive synthesis of the history of the New Deal. Historical writing about that era has been stalemated since the 1960s, when radical critics challenged the dominant liberal interpretation. Though many aspects of this significant period have since been researched, historians largely have avoided the grand interpretation of the New Deal that used to predominate. The result has been many studies but little coherence. While Badger's work can hardly be called a major synthesis, nor can his conclusions be considered startling, it reveals that some sense can be made out of the massive, fragmented body of historical work. The New Deal was not as revolutionary as some have thought, but neither was it as conservative as others have argued. Its significance came from its success in sustaining American society during a period of great stress. A well-written study.-- Charles K. Piehl, Mankoto State Univ., Minn.

Biography

Anthony Badger teaches American history at Cambridge University. He has also written Prosperity Road: The New Deal, North Carolina, and Tobacco.