Third Place Books welcomes local historian Bruce A. Ramsey for a discussion of his book Seattle in the Great Depression: A History of Business, Labor, and Politics Drawn from Local Chronicles. Containing stories many Seattleites have never heard, this book includes narrative history from the city's real estate depression, savings and loan failures, and waterfront Hooverville, to its political fights over unemployment assistance, intense business rivalries, union growth, and more. This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book! When you RSVP to one of our free events during the month of June, we invite you to add a donation to The Queer Trans Project, a Black-led, trans-led nonprofit organization dedicated to providing life-changing gender-affirming resources, uplifting trans voices, and building power for our communities. Having trouble registering? See Eventbrite's troubleshooting FAQ here. Tickets:This event is free to attend. RSVP is recommended in advance. About Seattle in the Great Depression. . .Captured from Great Depression-era Seattle newspapers, this narrative history of the city's business, labor, and political life traces a turbulent decade that scarred a generation and defined years of policy and culture. Underlying themes include the idea that the Depression was an economic consequence of World War I, intensified by reckless lending and restrictions on trade; that the New Deal helped people get through the Depression but could not end it; that the radical left made big gains in the 1930s but was ultimately rejected; and that, after the war, private economy revived but was not fundamentally altered.
These are stories many Seattleites have never heard. They begin with the end of the office tower development boom, the real estate depression that followed, and the failure of two large savings and loans. Investment banker Ben Ehrlichman emerges as a fascinating figure. As the economy worsens, articles consider the growth of the waterfront  Hooverville,  one woman's desperate search for work, political fights over controlling help for the unemployed, the debate around whether to require work in exchange for food, and the rise of a union for the unemployed.
Labor-related accounts cover the 1934 longshore strike, a 1936 newspaper strike, and the reign of pugnacious Teamster leader Dave Beck. Ramsey offers new, nuanced insights into Beck's climb and his influence over Mayor John Dore. Political pieces document the rise of the left, its domination by the Communist Party, resistance from non-Communist progressives, and its collapse following the Hitler-Stalin pact. Business coverage returns with the intense rivalry between City Light and Puget Power, Black Ball ferries' unsuccessful struggle to remain private, and Boeing's risky gamble on a four-engine aircraft. The final chapter highlights unions' and the Democratic Party's long-term rise, the scattering of the radicals, and the revival of private business. Bruce A. Ramsey grew up in the Seattle area. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration, then moved on to graduate studies in journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. He worked as the business news reporter and columnist at the Bellevue Journal-American, as the marine writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and as a reporter and writer for Marple’s Business Newsletter. He was the Seattle Post-Intelligencer 's business reporter and columnist from 1981-89. For the next five years, he served as a writer and editor for Hong Kong’s Asiaweek magazine, covering economic and political stories in Asia. He returned to Seattle to be a business writer, editorial writer and columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a position he held until 2000. In 2001, he became an editorial writer, columnist, and member of the editorial board at the Seattle Times, where he remained until 2013. Throughout his career, he reviewed more than 200 books, most of them on 20th century history. He has also published two other books, both from Caxton Press: Unsanctioned Voice: Garet Garrett, Journalist of the Old Right and The Panic of 1893: The Untold Story of Washington State’s First Depression. About Third Place BooksFounded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

Information Source: Third Place Books | eventbrite

King County

United States

Bothell

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