A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness and a Trove of Letters Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression

Shortly before Christmas 1933 in Depression-scarred Canton, Ohio, a newspaper ad offered $10 to 75 families in distress. Interested readers were asked to submit letters describing their hardships to a benefactor calling himself Mr. B. Virdot. In actuality, he was Sam Stone, the author's grandfather.Ted Gup discovered the letters in a suitcase 75 years later and was so moved by the tales of suffering and expressions of hope that he set out to unveil the lives behind them. The author also unearthed deeply buried details about his grandfather's life -- from his impoverished, abusive upbringing to his felonious efforts to hide his immigrant status from U.S. officials -- that explain why he felt such a strong affinity to strangers in need.