The winds began to blow in the spring and summer of 1929. nobody took much notice. The stock market soared from peak to peak, and President Hoover foresaw a final triumph over poverty. But two storms, one environmental, one financial, were about to break over America -- with horrific consequences. This program traces the devastation of the Dust Bowl, the migration of the Okies, the Great Depression, the advent of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal, and the subsequent period of recovery, celebrated in the song "Happy Days are Here Again." But the happiness would not last. Across the Atlantic, other storm clouds were gathering, and as American democracy was flourishing, German democracy was being crushed under the rule of the new chancellor of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler.
Again, America attempted to follow a course of isolation, separate from "Europe's war." Gut that war became ours with a vengeance on December 7, 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor. On that day of infamy, America was catapulted into a conflict that would determine the future course of civilization -- a conflict that finally ended with the sun-bright flare of a bomb called Little Boy.
Harold Evans, picture researcher Gail Buckland, and historical researcher Kevin Baker worked diligently to ensure accuracy throughout this landmark work. This audio program intrigues and involves, vividly bringing to life the power and passion of the American century, a century like no other.