A review by jensteerswell
Vein of Iron. Afterword by Anne Firor Scott by Ellen Glasgow

4.0

Oh, man, this gets pretty depressing as you watch the Fincastle clan go from rural poverty before WWI to possibly lower middle class in the 1920s boom years to ever more desperate urban poverty, until the very last page, when hope arrives. And yet, this is how the depression was: banks closing with all of your money inside and no depositors' insurance, businesses cutting your hours and your pay until they finally had to close their doors, people riding trains around the country looking for work. Those who want to destroy the welfare state that arose in response to those circumstances are well-advised to read this book before casting their ballots.