FDR’s Folly: How Franklin D. Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression

This is the 70th anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and it’s a good time to examine its premises and consequences. For decades most Americans have kept FDR on a pedestal and believed that the New Deal ended the Great Depression. Now Jim Powell has reviewed hundreds of recent books and journal articles to discover that in fact the New Deal prolonged the Depression. Milton Friedman says, “Powell’s analysis is thoroughly documented, relying on an impressive variety of popular and academic literature both contemporary and historical.” Michael Barone, one of America’s leading political historians, will offer his own perspective on FDR and FDR’s Folly.