Book 1: The Big Money, Man and Boy Summary and Analysis

In The Big Money, Terkel turns his attention to the haves of this era. He begins with William Benton, who founds the advertising firm Lord and Thomas in 1929. He is one of the first persons to recognize the potential for selling products on the radio. The unprecedented success he experiences renders him largely oblivious to the widespread suffering of the Depression. Benton goes on to manage both Muzak and the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Arthur Robinson is a former war correspondent and successful New York businessman. He has many friends who are ruined during the Depression, many who take their own lives. Robinson expounds on the rigged casino that Wall Street became in the twenties. Over and over, he mentions friends who say there is no point in having money if...