The incredible true story of how Americans from all walks of life weathered one of the most turbulent periods in our nation's history--the Great Depression--and emerged triumphant.
Crash tells the story of the Great Depression, from the sweeping fallout of the market collapse to the more personal stories of those caught up in the aftermath. Packed with photographs, primary documents, and firsthand accounts, Crash shines a spotlight on pivotal moments and figures across ethnic, gender, racial, social, and geographic divides, reflecting many different experiences of one of the most turbulent decades in American history. Marc Favreau's meticulous research, vivid prose, and extensive back matter paints a thorough picture of how the country we live in today was built in response to the widespread poverty, insecurity, and fear of the 1930s.
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“Narrator Oliver Wyman’s slow pacing and selective emphasis allow for easy listening of a story punctuated with contemporaneous quotes and headlines, including a powerful account of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Listeners hear the patrician speech of FDR, the compassionate tones of Cabinet Secretary Frances Perkins, the accented English of migrant workers, and the diverse voices of a wide variety of troubled Americans, who illustrate the universality of misery during this period. Wyman authentically delivers the words of blacks targeted for lynching in Alabama, devastated West Virginia coal-mining families, Michigan UAW supporters, and impoverished Floridians working New Deal jobs. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— Audiofile
“A tale of heroes, villains, and redemption, Crash is the story we should all be reading—about a time when Americans were knocked down, dusted themselves off, and rebuilt a world that was safer and more secure.”
— Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times bestselling author“Favreau gives readers incisive, penetrating, at times heartbreaking prose. A dynamic read deserving of a wide audience.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Favreau writes in a clear and relatable way…This story is far from a slow-moving history book. For readers who think of themselves as history buffs as well as those who just love a thought-provoking story, Crash will deliver on all levels.”
— VOYA (starred review)“The lucid text offers a good perspective on significant events…An enlightening and very readable book on a complex historical period.”
— Booklist (starred review)“Moving beyond the typical analysis of the time period, Favreau carefully crafts an enjoyable narrative that vibrantly depicts individual experiences, including little-known stories within the context of national trends…Each chapter is rife with primary sources, such as telegrams, photographs, posters, song lyrics, speech transcripts, and more.”
— School Library Journal“Favreau lets readers experience—no, live!—the worst economic collapse in US history, introducing us to the individuals who suffered through and labored to overcome the financial and social upheaval that was the Great Depression and the remarkable visionaries who rallied a nation against fear, hatred, and divisiveness until a new and stronger America finally emerged. An impressive and important work.”
— Jim Murphy, two-time Newbery Honor winner and Robert F. Sibert Award-winning author* "Much like Steve Sheinkin did in Bomb, Favreau writes in a clear and relatable way...this story is far from a slow-moving history book. For readers who think of themselves as history buffs as well as those who just love a thought-provoking story, Crash will deliver on all levels.
— VOYA (starred review)* "Favreau gives readers incisive, penetrating, at times heartbreaking prose. A dynamic read deserving of a wide audience.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)* "An enlightening and very readable book on a complex historical period.
— Booklist (starred review)"Crash is smart, thorough, visually engaging--and incredibly relevant. It may be aimed at ages "10 and up" but I was riveted--I think people of any age who are interested in understanding American history, especially in order to understand where we are today, will be too. It's a clear, concise narrative that makes a complicated history accessible without dumbing down or glossing over the nuances of race, class, and gender.
— Kate Schatz, NYT bestselling author of Rad American Women A-Z, Rad Women Worldwide, and Rad Girls CanIn a forceful, fast-paced, and well-informed narrative, Marc Favreau lets readers experience-no, live!-the worst economic collapse in US history, introducing us to the individuals who suffered through and labored to overcome the financial and social upheaval that was the Great Depression and the remarkable visionaries who rallied a nation against fear, hatred, and divisiveness until a new and stronger America finally emerged. An impressive and important work.
— Jim Murphy, two-time Newbery Honor- and Robert F. Sibert Award-winning author of An American PlagueA tale of heroes, villains, and redemption, Crash is the story we should all be reading--about a time when Americans were knocked down, dusted themselves off, and rebuilt a world that was safer and more secure.
— Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times bestselling author of Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White AmericaCrash is a fantastic resource for young readers to understand the decade that defined America. Through portraits of American resilience-from families in the Dustbowl struggling to survive to President Roosevelt, fighting to restore hope and prosperity to an ailing nation--Marc Favreau tells the story of how our country overcame enormous adversity. This is a compelling portrait of our past that reminds us how we became the nation we are today.
— Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-CT Third District and author of The Least Among Us: Waging the Battle for the VulnerableCrash is a terrific book, chock full of personal touches, details, and photographs that bring the people who lived through the Great Depression to life.
— George O'Connor, New York Times bestselling author of the Olympians graphic novel seriesMarc Favreau's style keeps a mammoth story moving, hitting the major moments of historical importance while taking care to put lesser-known stories into the narrative.
— Tanya Lee Stone, Robert F. Sibert Award-winning author of Courage Has No Color and Girl RisingIf you want to understand your grandparents' world into which they were born, thus affecting the world into which you were born, READ THIS!
— Bill Moyers, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning broadcast journalist and bestselling authorFavreau brings an important period of history to life." —Publishers Weekly
...engaging and comprehensive...Favreau carefully crafts an enjoyable narrative that vibrantly depicts individual experiences, including little-known stories within the context of national trends.
— School Library JournalEnhanced by photographs, personal interviews, and primary source documents, the story of one of the most unstable periods in American history conveys the highs and lows of everyday life during those difficult years. The message of the strength and resilience of the American people during this terrible time, and how it helped to shape the country we live in today, is well documented by the author in a reader-friendly style.
— School Library ConnectionFavreau [makes] the complex story accessible to middle-school readers....an appealing way to present an introduction to the period.
— BCCBBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Marc Favreau is the editorial director of the New Press. He is a co-editor, with Ira Berlin and Steven F. Miller, of Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk about Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation and the editor of A People’s History of World War II: The World’s Most Destructive Conflict, as Told by the People Who Lived through It.
Oliver Wyman is an actor and award-winning audiobook narrator. He has won five Audie Awards from the Audio Publisher’s Association, fourteen Earphone Awards, and two Listen Up Awards from Publisher’s Weekly. He was named a 2008 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture by AudioFile magazine. He has appeared on stage as well as in film and television, and he is a veteran voice actor who can be heard in numerous cartoons and video games. He is one of the founders of New York City’s Collective Unconscious theater, and his performances include the award-winning “reality play” Charlie Victor Romeo and A. R. McElhinney’s cult classic film A Chronicle of Corpses.