By examining the uneven fate of manufacturing industries during the 1930s, Michael Bernstein presents a powerful new interpretation of the Great Depression. The depth and persistence of the slump, he argues, cannot be explained by cyclical theories alone, but by the conjunction of a crisis in financial markets with a long-run transformation in the kinds of goods and services required by firms and households. By focusing on evidence from specific industries, Professor Bernstein provides a more detailed picture of what happened to the American economy in the thirties that was so different from previous downturns.