I came to suggest this one as well. I think about this book from time to time and it's another one that they force on US high school students before they're really ready to understand the themes within. I read it in high school and the only thing I remembered was the last chapter because something odd occurs, and I didn't remember it because of any emotional or philosophical part but because "ew gross".

I re-read it as a an adult and I loved the book. It's depressing but truly I think it's a great insight into the cause of the depression and the migration West. It may not be the most in depth explanation and doesn't address the issues in the stock market, but it covers the western experience very well.

Beyond that, I haven't read any other books on the topic but I can recommend the American History Tellers episodes if you are OK with listening. I love the series and if nothing else they will list a series of sources at the end of their episodes that you could reference. You can get it for free from most podcast sources

https://wondery.com/shows/american-history-tellers/season/10/

That's partially it, but part of it was because low quality cheap options didn't exist. You can still buy appliances that will last, it's just nobody is willing to pay for it anymore.

Case in point dollar stores - despite buying anything from there that's going to break down very easy and cost much more over a lifetime, people love thier cheap crap and China loves you all for it.

Thank you.

Actually, I'm more interested in history, but the extraordinary circumstances in the economy may have made me interested in this topic.