Timothy Messer-Kruse. Banksters, Bosses, and Smart Money: A Social History of the Great Toledo Bank Crash of 1931. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, 2004. xii + 196 pp. ISBN 0-8142-0977-7, $44.95 (paper).

In his book, Timothy Messer-Kruse argues that the financialsector has real effects and examines the causes and effectsof the banking collapse in Toledo, Ohio, during the summer of1931. Messer-Kruse makes an important contribution with hiscomprehensive microeconomic study of a banking panic and collapse,using a social history approach. Much of the book identifiesindividuals and details their actions and relationships to Toledo’sbanks, real estate firms, corporations, and municipal, county,