Dietmar Rothermund (1933–2020)

For once, a book which actually discusses precisely the topic indicated in its title. This is an interesting but quite brief attempt at explaining how various regions in the world were affected by the economic depression. The author himself acknowledges that it would be an impossible task to go into much detail in every country but he does a fine job of providing an overall summary and a good starting point for further studies. However, you more or less need a university degree in macroeconomics to understand the narrative completely. The author presents the fiscal policies and economic circumstances of most countries so compactly that it becomes difficult for a layman like myself to keep up with the argument. Nevertheless I learned two things from this book: the world economy was quite integrated already in the 1920s, and the profit-seeking administration that colonial empires exercised in many regions of the world in the early 20th century handicapped those regions badly for the future.… (mehr)