"Touches on themes that are compelling for their relevance nearly a century later. The story of economic downturn and its effects—homelessness, joblessness, corruption—are clearly issues of great interest today."
~Kim Butler, Rutgers University
"The Depression Comes to the South Side will be a useful study for experts seeking to fill in gaps in familiar narratives, as well as for undergraduate and graduate students looking for an initial guide to the most important events, individuals, and organizations of the years before the New Deal and the Popular Front. Perhaps the greatest importance of Reed's most recent book is that it advances his longue durée narrative of black Chicago's political history. Reed models a way to incorporate microhistories and multiple biographies into a broader understanding of a community as complex and iconic as black Chicago."
~Journal of American Studies
"Reed offers a summary of the impact of the Depression on Chicago's South Side in the few years prior to Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 election, and before the New Deal began to ease the suffering of the city's African American population.118.4 2013"
~American Historical Review
"In demonstrating [Chicago African American's] restlessness and frustration with traditional tools for advancement, Christopher Reed's The Depression Comes to the South Side . . . [begins] to show us how and why African Americans decided to change their political fate."
~JOURNAL of ILLINOIS HISTORY
