Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression Audiobook

" A very insightful book on a complex time in our history. It is not and easy read, but well worth it. "

" Was expecting more of a popular history but this one reads more like a doctoral dissertation. "

" This book needed a good strong editor, or a less pedantic author. "

" This book is too small for its breeches, which is to say it is highly repetitious, has an interesting but relatively modest historical perspective, and needed an editor with a weed wacker to cut about 100 pages. The book also creates its own version of the Renaissance problem (when did that Renaissance begin?)by inconsistent framing of its own historical period. "

" I hate misnamed books. This is not a *cultural* history of the Great Depression. That would include music, fashion, slang, hobbies, and other aspects of daily life. This is a *literary* history of the Great Depression, featuring novels unknown to any except English majors. Towards the end they throw in a chapter on movies and a chapter on Woody Guthrie, but that doesn't quite cut it. "

" This wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was hoping for a cultural histroy of the great depression that was more inclusinve of the arts/culture of the times. Very disappointing. "

" I wish this hadn't been so terribly dry... "

" Some interesting stuff, but you need to know the background. People and films and books are discussed in ways that are problematic if you are not familiar with them. "

" Interesting that this was hailed as one of the best books of 2009. A good survey of the decade, but with those types of accolades, I expected more insight and analysis. Interesting read though. "

" How interesting this was, though requiring some time and patience to get through. I thought I had a pretty decent handle on depression-era fiction and movies until I starting reading about dozens of titles I'd never even heard of. "

" i did not like this book at all. "

" The Great Depression as viewed through the arts. "

" An excellent cultural criticism of literature, art, music, films that are informed by the Great Depression. If you're a history buff, you'll totally enjoy this book. "

" OK, but ultimately just a collection of Dickstein's university lectures. "

" I thought this book had a lot of potential but it was more like an author/book report of a variety of authors during the 20s & 30s. It was hard to make the connection to the actual topic and, frankly, an uninteresting read. "

" I did a speed read throuh certain chapters I was most interested in, since I couldn't read this dense text with-in 3 weeks. I'll check it out again in the future for a more thorough reading. "

" A lucid survey of the cultural output of the 1930s and its reflection of the financial malaise and American loss of confidence--from the social realism of Tobacco Road and Grapes of Wrath, to the manic edge of screwball comedy. "

" Probably a great book for a movie or book fan of the 1930's. Requires a great deal of background knowledge to appreciate it. It would be an excellent reference book, but wasn't an enjoyable read. "

" An excellent cultural criticism of literature, art, music, films that are informed by the Great Depression. If you're a history buff, you'll totally enjoy this book. "

" A very insightful book on a complex time in our history. It is not and easy read, but well worth it. "

" Interesting that this was hailed as one of the best books of 2009. A good survey of the decade, but with those types of accolades, I expected more insight and analysis. Interesting read though. "

" good information, but given in a very dry format. barely got through half before I was skimming through the book. not the best/not the worst "

" This wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was hoping for a cultural histroy of the great depression that was more inclusinve of the arts/culture of the times. Very disappointing. "

" Probably a great book for a movie or book fan of the 1930's. Requires a great deal of background knowledge to appreciate it. It would be an excellent reference book, but wasn't an enjoyable read. "

" Was expecting more of a popular history but this one reads more like a doctoral dissertation. "

" I wish this hadn't been so terribly dry... "

" I did a speed read throuh certain chapters I was most interested in, since I couldn't read this dense text with-in 3 weeks. I'll check it out again in the future for a more thorough reading. "