Scott Reynolds Nelson is a professional historian who prefers to examine the grassroots citizenry to understand economic cataclysms and recoveries, rather than starting at the top with bankers and federal fiscal and monetary agencies.

His approach worked well in his previous books (Iron Confederacies: Southern Railways, Klan Violence, and Reconstruction and Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, theUntold Story of an American Legend).

In his new book, history focusing on the losers instead of the winners is especially effective. This might not qualify as 100% pure revisionist history, but it is certainly unconventional history, and hooray for that.