Hard Times by Studs Terkel

You’ll read about klansmen being entrusted to keep both black and white families safe from crime in the shanty towns..

You’ll read about men who were saved from starvation in prison only by the grace of a junior official speaking on their behalf, and how they came to thank god they weren’t on the outside..

You’ll read about religious charities that, when rebuked by a homeless young girl for having posted flyers offering help when they had no way to shelter her, came to pull an entire town together to run a bread-line, to offer strangers shelter and a place to sit and something to eat..

You’ll read about David Kennedy’s point of view on the new deal, and wonder whether or not he actually had a clue about the people being shot off the trains, being jailed for vagrancy, being used as penny-wage-slave labor..

You’ll read about a man who was grateful to have joined the Army during WW1, as it saved him from the depravity and misery of the Great Depression..

You’ll read about Huey Long, the man who in the south filled stadiums speaking on the need to tax all wealth held above 2 million dollars (he was shot and killed at a public gathering)..

You’ll read the words of people who might as well be around the corner from you come November..