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Encyclopedia of the Great Depression. Ed. by Robert S. McElvaine. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 2 vols. $265 (ISBN 0-02-865686-5).
The purpose of the Encyclopedia of the Great Depression is to present a contemporary examination of a wide-ranging selection of topics relevant to the economic collapse of the 1930s. Robert McElvaine, a professor of history at Millsaps College and author of other books on the Great Depression, notes that the Depression was primarily an "economic and social phenomenon," but it was also a time of "political and social innovation" and "extraordinary cultural developments" (x). This twovolume set on the Depression illustrates the hardships and accomplishments of this period in an effective and accessible manner.
The encyclopedia's 542 entries are arranged alphabetically and range in length from three hundred to five thousand words. The articles are signed and include a bibliography and cross references. In addition to the main text, the book contains a timeline of events...