Addresses the central economic event of the century, the Great Depression. This book argues that the Federal Reserve could have stemmed the severity of the Depression, but failed to exercise its role of managing the monetary system and ameliorating banking panics.

This edition of the original text includes a new preface by Anna Jacobson Schwartz, as well as a new introduction by the economist Peter Bernstein. It also reprints comments from the current Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, originally made on the occasion of Milton Friedman's 90th birthday, on the enduring influence of Friedman and Schwartz's work and vision.

New Preface by Anna Jacobson Schwartz ix
Introduction: The Great Contraction, Seen from the Perspective of 2007 by Peter L. Bernstein xiii
The Great Contraction, 1929-1933 by Milton Friedman and Anna Jacobson Schwartz 1
Remarks by Ben S. Bernanke 227
Author Index 251
Subject Index 253