The Book of Jobs

By Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, this article is the best thing I've read about both the current recession and the cause of the Great Depression:

The Book of Jobs

by Joseph Stiglitz

Vanity Fair

January, 2012

Forget monetary policy. Re-examining the cause of the Great Depression—the revolution in agriculture that threw millions out of work—the author argues that the U.S. is now facing and must manage a similar shift in the “real” economy, from industry to service, or risk a tragic replay of 80 years ago.