[Billthedrill]

The Grapes of Wrath, but I didn't know it until much later.

[TruBluKentuckian]

The Grapes of Wrath, but I didn't know it until much later.

While I agree that politically it's not very conservative... it's still the best book I've ever read.

[VOA]

The Grapes of Wrath, but I didn't know it until much later.

While there is definitely a socialist sentiment, I still admire the book.

And hearing my grandparents and parents recount how they just barely managed to hang on
in north-central Oklahoma during the Depression, I guess I admired the work
because it portrayed how some average humans respond to a miserable situation with many
aspects simply beyond their own control.

And remembering that fifty percent of the population of Oklahoma left the state during the
Dust Bowl/Depression simply underlines how miserable the situation really was in Oklahoma;
the book also shows how miserable things were once the Okies arrived at the California
border.

I'm not saying the book isn't socialistic in tone. But I guess having heard how tough
the times really were, I look at it as a testament to a generation that mostly managed
to pull together and hold on.
Until Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Tojo accidentally stimulated the
economy and indirectly provoked the US Gov. to provide a cot, three squares
and a little money to send home (e.g., Audy Murphy's story) for millions of Americans.