Review of Hard Times, You Say? Smile, This Is The Great Depression

[Marsa Alexander]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Hard Times, You Say? Smile, This Is The Great Depression" by R. Leslie Howe.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Review By: Marsa Alexander

This was a very good book. It is about the era of the Great Depression. This story follows the life of Gunther Miller lll, from youth, through the entire Depression. The events in his life and the subsequent events of the Crash of 1930.
The Depression marked a huge change in millions of lives through homelessness, unemployment, and societies inequities. It left families struggling with poverty and starvation. Organized crime and many other illegal activities added to the chaos of life. There were many different jobs during that time, some were dangerous, others for low wages. There were many challenges and hardships that millions of people and families struggled with the Depression.
A good read. There were some mistakes, but they did not take away from the story itself, they just interfered with some of the "flow". I give the rating of 4 because of the mistakes.
I gained a perspective of the lives of the people during the Depression. How much of a struggle it could be to have food, shelter and stability in their lives. How they overcame the obstacles that they faced and how much work it took to find work.
I liked the open dialogue about the political and social environment that was a part of the Depression. I learned details about the Depression that I had not known until I read this book. From the feeling expressed in the book, I also gained an insight into how people felt and why they felt that particular way.
Gunther was an interesting character. He had to overcome so much and learned what friendship was and how much friends could help or hinder his journey through the hard times. I could empathize with his feelings as he went through those struggles and challenges. I could feel the happiness during those times that life was good for him and it really was heartwarming when everything came to an end that, while it made me cry, was a good ending.

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Hard Times, You Say? Smile, This Is The Great Depression
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