3。5 starsAn engaging， well researched read that discusses the origins， successes， & failures of the New Deal。 It also applies how the policies & long term effects have shaped the current fabric of US society， & what lessons we might take from it to make progress addressing current issues such as climate change， the pandemic， & economic weaknesses。[What I liked:]•I appreciate that this book doesn’t just document past history， but also shows how the New Deal shapes our daily life in the US （infras 3。5 starsAn engaging， well researched read that discusses the origins， successes， & failures of the New Deal。 It also applies how the policies & long term effects have shaped the current fabric of US society， & what lessons we might take from it to make progress addressing current issues such as climate change， the pandemic， & economic weaknesses。[What I liked:]•I appreciate that this book doesn’t just document past history， but also shows how the New Deal shapes our daily life in the US （infrastructure， public services， labor laws， economic safe guards， & resource development）， & the dangers presented by its gradual erosion that has taken place since the 1930’s。 It made the text interesting from a historical reference， but also very relevant to today。•The book points out the many positives brought by New Deal policies， but does not neglect to address the failures: the racism， sexism， & other injustices it was unable to adequately address or even reinforced。 This gives some reference point for how policies can be improved。•The writing style is easy to digest， weaving together narrative & real life characters with more statistical information。 It does not attempt to be an exhaustive exploration of the topic， but to provide a few concrete examples。 It’s a nice length for a more casual reader of history。•There are extensive footnotes & resources in the appendix。 I appreciate the work & care that went into the research， as well as the ability to synthesize the wealth of information into a focused， approachable text。[What I didn’t like as much:]•I know it’s not the main focus of the text， & it was addressed in some depth in the intro & conclusion， but I’m interested to read more of the writer’s thoughts on updating， reinstating， reinventing， & strengthening the New Deal policies to address current social， economic， & development issues。 There’s a lot more there to explore & expound on， perhaps in a future book。[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。 Thank you for the book！] 。。。more