Contents:
The popular authors outsold the F. Scott Fitzgeralds of the time. In writing about writers, Bryson makes an attempt to pin his subjects down to the summer of since this is, after all, the alleged focus of his book. Among serious writers of fiction, only Sinclair Lewis enjoyed robust sales in the summer of Elmer Gantry was far and away the bestselling fiction book of that year. The novel sold , copies on its first day of sale, and was cruising towards , by the end of the summer …. Hemingway produced no novel in He was mostly preoccupied with personal affairs — he divorced one wife and wed another ….
Scott Fitzgerald, the other American literary giant of the age — to us, if not to his contemporaries — produced no book in Since I have drifted into culture, let it be noted that Bela Lugosi opened on Broadway in the play Dracula in September He made his entire career from that character. We take a brief stroll down Broadway in the neighborhood of, but not the block, of And we are told that the heyday of Broadway ended about that time with the advent of the talking pictures.
The movies took the Broadway audiences, actors and writers. So says Bill Bryson. I have said a couple of times that it would be interesting to see the Notes that appear in the final edition. Seems to me that Bryson may have occasionally sacrificed facts for a good story. Maybe is just another way of being flexible. If you are from Chicago or Indiana, you may be pleased to hear that these two locations get some special attention from Bryson. Actually, you may not be pleased since a lot of the attention is on crime and corruption.
You might not agree that Al Capone was a model citizen. In one short paragraph, Bill Bryson lists the events and people of the summer of that he observed for pages. As any good tabloid, the Epilogue exposes some quirks and tells how the people died. To that short list of objects you might now add this book, One Summer: But to fill pages Bryson had to stretch out the summer to much of the year and the era to all the years the people of lived. He has entertained me, as he has done in some of his previous books, but he has neither made my spirit soar nor my mind marvel nor my pulse quicken.
He has written a three star book that entertained without enthralling and that informed without compelling. View all 15 comments. Aug 17, Mike rated it it was amazing. Only one man could take Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, Babe Ruth's record setting home runs, the worst flooding in US History, a surprise announcement by President Coolidge, the execution of two Italian anarchists, the introduction of taking motion pictures, television and the electric chair and dozens of other totally unrelated events that happened during the Summer of and connect the dots.
Several years ago I picked Only one man could take Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, Babe Ruth's record setting home runs, the worst flooding in US History, a surprise announcement by President Coolidge, the execution of two Italian anarchists, the introduction of taking motion pictures, television and the electric chair and dozens of other totally unrelated events that happened during the Summer of and connect the dots.
Within a few weeks I had devoured everything BB had ever written and eagerly awaited being one of the first to read his newest works that followed. This time, I was able to read a publisher's advance copy of "One Summer, America, " a full month prior to the book's introduction to book stores. While you may think that the events of the Summer of are not, high on your list of things to know, please do yourself a favor and pick up this book.
I promise you will find yourself LOLing and wanting to reread passages aloud to anyone within an earshot. Even cataract surgery could not force me to put down this book! View all 4 comments. Nov 07, Miranda Reads rated it liked it Shelves: When I picked this up, I had no idea that it would be so interesting We travel forwards and backwards in history but all events converged to a significant moment during A Short History of Private Life where Bill Bryson looks into the full picture behind centuries of research, we have an account in extreme detail about regarding a single year.
We have Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic - a person whose fame started in and who' When I picked this up, I had no idea that it would be so interesting We travel forwards and backwards in history but all events converged to a significant moment during We have Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic - a person whose fame started in and who's fame haunted him throughout the rest of his life. Picture mobs of fans that never dissipate. Funny, how such a popular man became only a footnote after nearly a hundred years.
America became enraptured in the first big tabloid driven murder trial Ruth Snyder murdered her husband and did an extremely poor job of covering it up. Al Capone continues what he does best - smuggling booze and murder. Herbert Hoover does a incredible job with relief efforts from the Mississippi basin flood. There's so many fun micro-histories covered in this novel.
They read somewhat like vignettes but he connected them so well that the full novel was completely cohesive. I hope that someday there will be a sequel of the same nature. Audiobook Comments Read by the author and it was a delight to listen to. He was so enthusiastic about his book - made it a lot of fun!
Jul 04, Dedra rated it it was amazing. A five star review from an avowed fiction reader for a non fiction book is pretty rare. But this book kept me just as enthralled as a great novel. What a summer was and what a storyteller Bill Bryson is! From the fascinating little known facts about Charles Lindbergh's flight and all the disastrous attempts before him that I had to read aloud to my husband saying, "Did you know this? Don't let the size of this book stop you. When I finished it, I wished it were longer.
Nov 07, Paula rated it liked it. I have very mixed feelings about this book. I gave it 3 stars because I did like the wealth of information in the book. But I felt like that information was presented in a very disjointed way. Going month by month was OK, but I felt like the titles on the sections were misleading--I was expecting a whole section to be about the section heading--not so. And all the little "aside" stories thrown in were interesting, even if not familiar, but also seemed to just pop up anywhere in the book. Maybe I I have very mixed feelings about this book.
Maybe I just expected too much from the book, knowing that it's a bestseller and by Bill Bryson, but I ended up feeling disappointed by it. View all 3 comments. In his first major book published in , Bill Bryson took a roadtrip around the United States in his mother's aged car. His account of s America was honest, biting, and pee-your-pants funny. Yet looking back on that early book from the vantage of Bryson's more recent works, one is surprised to remember just how cynical Bill Bryson used to be. The book on America was titled "The Lost Continent.
The book which is released everywhere in October takes stock of a giant range of subjects representative of the diversity of America itself. The common thread that bind Bryson's topics together are their coalescence in America between May and September of Most time is devoted to a handful of particularly important events: Charles Lindbergh's famous achievement and the early days of transatlantic flight; Babe Ruth's record-breaking season that changed baseball forever; the great Mississippi Floods; the Sacco and Vanzetti trial that altered opinions of America worldwide; the beginnings of Mount Rushmore; Calvin Coolidge's odd and surprising presidential choices; and scads of other bits and bobs from the roaring twenties.
From the booming cinema industry to the poor decisions made by a select few bankers on Long Island that led to the Great Depression, Bryson explores how the seemingly random events of the summer changed our history. Bryson covers impressive ground here. Much research and consideration obviously went into this project.
In the hands of most other writers, such a book might lose cohesion. Bryson deftly bounces from one topic to another, elegantly imbricating his many narrative snapshots, until they ultimately form a full picture of "one hell of a summer" that perhaps shaped world history more than any other of the twentieth century.
As with all his s work A Short History of Nearly Everything, Thunderbolt Kid, At Home , One Summer delivers fewer of the snort-out-loud moments on each page that his earlier travel writing traded in. While his s books never shied from sophomoric views in order to achieve big belly laughs, here Bryson paints with a finer brush. We have a more sedate, cerebral Bryson, a wiser man tired of yelling and jabbing at the world's woes and absurdities, who instead leans back and surveys our history with a light grin and marveling chuckle.
Yet Bryson still has a contagious and giddy delight in the obscure and astonishing facts of our world, and his matured voice, which he has finally perfected in this decade, is charm and ease itself. As always, I can't wait for what Bill Bryson will come out with next. That's why his "narrative non-fiction" reads like a funny story, and makes us all learn a lot about the things we did not fully understand like aviation, baseball, TV and sound movies but they made an integral part of our lives since we were born. Maybe not everyone is interested in recent history of America, but I am quite sure most of the readers will find many fun-facts about various thing they even didn't know they didn't know So, kudos for Bryson.
The Serbian translation will be available this Spring, published by Laguna, Belgrade. May 20, David rated it liked it Recommended to David by: Bill Bryson has put together a set of intermingled stories about the big stories during the summer of These stories include Charles Lindbergh, his solo flight across the Atlantic and the aftermath, Al Capone and his brief career as the top mobster in Chicago, the story of prohibition, the flooding of the Mississippi River, the Yankees and their home-run hitters Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the trials of Sacc Content: These stories include Charles Lindbergh, his solo flight across the Atlantic and the aftermath, Al Capone and his brief career as the top mobster in Chicago, the story of prohibition, the flooding of the Mississippi River, the Yankees and their home-run hitters Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the trials of Sacco and Vanzetti, the building of Mt.
Rushmore, and many others. The stories do not begin in Instead, Bryson gives the context into which each story played. Sometimes this required backing up to a decade or more, to give the relevant history. For example, Babe Ruth did not suddenly appear on the scene in , nor did Charles Lindbergh suddenly become an aviator. By the way, Charles Lindbergh's exploit took advantage of his excellent navigation skills. In Bryson's hands, each story becomes a fascinating marvel, so well told, with a tone of understatement instead of over-the-top hype.
Unlike his travel books, this book is not humorous.
There are no crazy jokes, no sarcasm. Instead, the book is a steady stream of interesting history, constructed so as to keep your attention riveted. So, given that it is such a good book, why do I give it only three stars? Well, I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author. Bill Bryson has a very pleasant voice, so shouldn't I enjoy the audiobook? Maybe, but this voice is very soft, and worse yet, he speaks in an uneven volume, alternating a normal volume with an almost inaudible volume. But, that is not the worst of it.
Random House Audio, the book's publisher, produced a set of audio files that were recorded at a very low volume. It is obvious that Random House Audio has some very very poorly-trained recording engineers. I used the software program "Audacity" to check on the volume level, and saw that the waveform could be increased by 8 or 9 decibels without fear of much clipping. Random House Audio, you can do a much better job!! View all 6 comments. Who would have thought that there was so much happening in one country in one year?
Written with Bryson's more than usual trademark wit and with his skill of telling otherwise forgotten, obscure or neglected stories in an entertaining, informative and engaging way. As usual he conveys these stories connected more of less by the year with his usual his wide-eyed delivery - sharing his fa A definite return to form for Bryson after the disappointing 'At Home - A Short History of Private Life'. As usual he conveys these stories connected more of less by the year with his usual his wide-eyed delivery - sharing his fascination with the facts and stories he has unearthed along with the reader.
Sep 27, Carol rated it it was ok Shelves: One Summer America, is clearly not a walk in the woods but a lazy stroll down memory lane. You may not know everyone who has a role in these pages but you're bound to be familiar with at least a few. Bryson gives us a tease on some and more detail on others.
Unfortunately he jumps all over the place in these histories even though all his characters have something to do with that one summer. It's a a bit confusing and m One Summer America, is clearly not a walk in the woods but a lazy stroll down memory lane. It's a a bit confusing and makes for jerky reading. I had to wonder how and why Bryson chose this particular summer to write about.
I don't think he randomly selected as Douglas Brinkley Washington Post writes in his scathing review. He likens Bryson's to birthday cards from the year you were born, a token of the times. Our book group wouldn't go so far as to be negative and all thought they learned something and will use One Summer America, as a stepping stone for some research on whatever figure captured their attention. Mine would be Calvin Coolidge as most of the others were more than I need or want to know.
Something just seemed off here. I particularly missed his laugh out loud humor and blend of fact with a good story. I did enjoy the prologue but wasn't quite certain how it fit. I finally decided to listen to In a Sunburned Country Oct 24, Jason rated it it was amazing Shelves: Well it only took me TEN months but I am telling you all that this was the book of the year for me. It took me a few days I kept picking it up and putting it down but once I got into it - total immersion from start to finish.
Originally I was questionable as to why the author picked as a type of narrative structure, but as I began reading it it became clearer to me. I was wondering why he didn't go further back into the decade. The author uses the events of one faraway summer to expand on Well it only took me TEN months but I am telling you all that this was the book of the year for me.
Bill Bryson is a writer who could make anything fascinating and he really shines in this book. View all 10 comments. Maybe I I have very mixed feelings about this book. The abundance of proposals make Hitler's beliefs sound almost mainstream. But it's not all about A very enjoyable book.
The author uses the events of one faraway summer to expand on the ways and mores of an America yet untouched by depression and the spectre of another World War. If anything, besides being a phenomenal read, this book has stoked the flame of my interest for all-things twenties. I plan on trying to decipher the administration of Warren Harding and all his scandals as well as unearthing the tangled, somewhat troubled legacy of Charles Lindbergh. A true American hero Apr 29, Arminius rated it it was amazing Shelves: Americans were rich and hungered for celebrities.
The first celebrity status was thrown on to an unwillingly participant Charles Lindbergh. His flight across the Atlantic made him the most famous man in the world. Wherever he would fly huge crowds would await to see him. In fact, his appearance at the National Mall in Washington D. C attracted the largest crowd to ever gather there. Also, Babe Ruth changed Baseball by producing has to be one of the most fascinating years in American history.
Also, Babe Ruth changed Baseball by producing more home runs than anyone else had. In Ruth set a record by hitting 60 homeruns in one season. Boxing heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey lost his title to relatively unknown but talented former light heavyweight champion Gene Tunney.
Tunney dropped but the referee refused to count until Dempsey moved to a neutral corner. This gave Tunney extra recovery time and on the count of nine he stood up continued the fight and easily outpointed Dempsey to retain the title. Henry Ford is described as a bungler in the book. He stopped production of his famed Model T automobile in to produce a new model called the Model A.
However, he closed all production of the Model T before he even started production of the Model A. This allowed General Motors to overtake Ford Sales, a status it never relinquished. However there were plenty of crack pots as well. For example, a man known as Shipwreck Kelly would climb to the top of a flag pole and just sit there in what was appropriately known as flag pole sitting.
A more sinister man by the name of Wayne Wheeler headed the Anti Saloon league. The only dissent came from Justice Pierce Butler. This ruling gave the states the right to perform surgery on healthy people against their will. I could go on with story after story but this review would be too large then so I will leave it this. I will just end this with this book was fantastic. View all 8 comments. I have always been a fan of Mr. He writes with a friendly, witty style that I really like.
I also admire him for what he has done for my country England , in terms of protecting its rural landscapes and history. It is not easy for me to criticize a Bill Bryson book, but with "One Summer: America ", I have not got past the prologue before sadly putting the book down. Bryson has made two statements I think are misleading when there is no reason to do so. Page 17, Paragra I have always been a fan of Mr.
Page 17, Paragraph 2, sentence 2. Bryson writes - "The development of air-cooled engines - America's one outstanding contribution to aviation technology in the period". Air cooled engines were in use from the start of powered flight and used in great numbers throughout the First World war. Bryson means is the development of the radial engine, which was much more reliable than previous engines.
I agree, it was a pivotal moment. The only problem here is that the breakthrough was done by Professor A. Gibson and Samuel D. Heron, who, under the auspices of the British Royal Aircraft Factory, came up with the breakthrough design of the aluminium, cast cylinder head and cooling fins and cast iron or steel -sleeved cylinder linings. The second issue regards the description of Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy aircraft.
On Page 15, Paragraph 3, Sentence 2, Mr. Bryson describes the Vimy as "little more than a box-kite with a motor". The Vimy was a twin-engined heavy bomber that went into service in late , too late to see action in WW1. It was capable of carrying a 2,lb bomb load. While the aircraft is very much of its time, it certainly was not "a box-kite" and it had more than one motor! Some may think I am being very picky, I might agree, were it not for the fact that I am certain there is much in the book that, unlike aviation history, I do not know.
After reading the Prologue, I am left with the feeling that if I carry on, I am being spun a yarn. That much of what I am reading is probably not quite true, light on detail or to use modern parlance, had a spin put on it. What is believable and what is not? Yes, I like Mr. Bryson's take on things and for a travelogue that is fine. For a book that covers living history, I, for one, need to know that what I am reading is being presented accurately. It may have a personal take on it, fine, but do I want to carry on and read a book I can no longer trust, to be a reasonably accurate portrayal of events?
I'll let you know I had such a tremendous experience with Blake J. I learned so much from this book! Were you aware that Henry Ford was an ignorant anti-semite? In fact, it seemed most people were anti-semites as racism and bigotry ran wild during the roaring twenties.
Of all the subjects studied, I found Henry Ford to be the most fascinating. A giant egotist, the man frequently shunned advice from anyone who claimed to be an expert in any given field. One of his biggest blunders involved completely stopping production on his immensely popular car the Model T to concentrate on designing and producing his next creation, the Model A. He completely shut down operations without a clue on what he would manufacture. His other ridiculous idea involved buying a huge chunk of land in South America and creating a model American community that would produce the rubber required for his vehicles.
He seemingly did zero research into the climate and location and appointed dangerously under-qualified men to oversee the operation. How the Ford Motor Company survived is astounding. One of the biggest obstacles with writing non-fiction has to be getting the flow or style right. While Bryson does a fine job, there were still moments albeit few when I found my mind wandering and skimming over long patches of information without digesting anything. A Short History of Private Life this weekend while on vacation.
I look forward to reading more of what he has to offer. Also posted Every Read Thing May 09, Pamela rated it it was amazing Shelves: Talk about a diversely encompassing, uncanny, and sometimes wildly surreal look back at s America - primary focus,summer of - this is it. From Charles Lindbergh to Al Capone, Prohibition to Eugenics, politics to philanderers, murder to mayhem, jazz to speakeasies, plus the Mississippi flood, the Great Migration, loony fads and crazy competitions, show boats and musicals, Hollywood, "Talkies", pulp fiction authors.
America, is a real eye-opener; I thought I knew a good deal about the many people, places, things, ideologies, and events of , and the twenties at large - but my knowledge only scratched the surface. As Paul Harvey might say: Or what governed force-censored publishers blatantly omitted in order to paint our nation in more 'favorable' light. I can't count the times I stopped reading to look up things.
Zane Grey and his perversions; Lou Gehrig's attachment to his mother; widespread eugenics; the worldwide influence of "Talkies" and Hollywood And the list goes on. Gadzooks, what a decade! The weird, the wild, the wondrous, and the world influencing shakers and makers. Oh, but those darn haters!! Proof positive there's nothing new under the sun. History indeed repeats itself - both in good ways and bad. What could have been a dry and tedious slog, was really quite enjoyable. Bill Bryson's voice and writing-style made this dense and widely diverse book enthralling and compulsively readable.
Not typical of non-fiction. And that is the winning vote for pushing a four-and-one-half star read to five. Jan 03, Marvin Fein rated it did not like it Recommends it for: Could be the dullest accumulation of facts ever put into pages. Bryson may have other successes but he was greatly in need of an editor with real guts on this one.
Jul 31, Ms. What could possibly go wrong? Bryson chooses as the nexus of a decade unimpeded by such a simple question. As the 38 story Sherry-Netherland apartment building was being completed, it never occurred to the builders that fire hoses of the time had a range of a mere 4 stories. Of course the building caught fire. Fortunately, renters had not yet moved in. New Yorkers were always up for some lively entertainment, and the Plaza Hotel across the street was quickly filled with well-heeled spectato What could possibly go wrong? Here is Bryson's description: First, to Sikorsky's despair, he insisted on going before the plane was adequately tested.
Next, and even worse, he grossly overloaded it. He packed extra fuel, an abundance of emergency equipment, two kinds of radios, spare clothes, presents for friends and supporters, and lots to eat and drink, including wine and champaigne. He even packed a dinner of terrapin, turkey, and duck to be prepared and eaten after reaching Paris, as if France could not be counted on to feed them.
Altogether the plane when loaded weighed twenty-eight thousand pounds, far more than it was designed, or probably able, to lift. Finally, there was the cascade of unintended consequences from the passage of Prohibition in To prevent scofflaws from imbibing alcohol manufactured for industrial purposes, the U. Government authorized lacing this supply with various poisonous substances like strychnine and mercury. One source that Bryson cites claims that 11, people died in from being poisoned by their own government. Yes, what could go wrong? Today, certain catch-phrases adhere about the '20's, the product of a whirlwind survey of American history.
He was a meticulous planner and skillful pilot in an age when so many trusted to luck. The list of pilots who either vanished or crashed is astonishing. Baseball was in a downward trajectory until Babe Ruth ignited it with his spectacular record of hits, RBI's and home runs. In Ruth his 54 home runs; in he hit 59 home runs. The novel was based on the notorious and comic for its ineptitude Snyder-Gray murder case.
We also forget the near hysteria Lindbergh inspired on his return. The mobs of enthusiasts and souvenir hunters would have stripped him of every inch of clothing and trampled him to death if left unimpeded. If it was the golden age of newspapers, it was also the ascendancy of the tabloids. The abundance of proposals make Hitler's beliefs sound almost mainstream. Bryson is a masterful stylist; he describes an age of reckless enthusiasms and stunning disregard for facts with memorable verve and wit.
Jun 02, Melora rated it really liked it Shelves: This is just marvelously funny, appalling, startling, and fascinating. Who would have thought that one summer could encompass so much? Actually, of course, Bryson doesn't limit his story to America in the summer of He moves forward and backward in time, to more fully tell about events, and he takes readers with his characters to South America Much as I enjoy Bill Bryson's travel and autobiographical writing, I like his histories — A Short History of Nearly Everything and this — even better. He moves forward and backward in time, to more fully tell about events, and he takes readers with his characters to South America, France, England, etc.
But the summer of ties it all together, and that summer included memorable moments in the history of baseball, boxing, aeronautics, politics, crime, automobiles, radio and television, movies, pulp fiction, and more. Bryson's lively, humorous style keeps the book zipping along, even when he's covering topics in which I have little interest such as transatlantic flight, boxing, baseball, automobiles On the surface, America of almost 90 years ago seems very While Bryson doesn't hesitate to look at the seamy side of history, he doesn't wallow, and he manages to find the fun in the stories of Prohibition, Al Capone, and even Henry Ford.
The most joyful segments, though, are about baseball. As I said, I'm not much interested in baseball, but Babe Ruth's story, even with its sordid aspects, is heartwarming, if not exactly wholesome, and adds a nice warmth and optimism. A very enjoyable book. I should note that I listened to this, read by the author, with a physical copy on hand , and once I got used to Bryson's peculiar accent — Midwestern with an English twang?
You can hear the laughter in his voice when he gets to particularly funny bits in his own writing, and I love that. Sep 27, Todd Martin rated it liked it Shelves: Not surprisingly, One Summer: America, is a history of the various activities that were taking place around the US during the summer of that year. Key events, people and topics that Bryson covers in some detail include: One Summer exhibits quite a bit of painstaking research, is well written, and kept me interested throughout.
Bryson makes history fun and could probably publish a phonebook in a way that would be compelling to read. This might be due in part to the fact that the book lacks a strong organizing principle. Unlike some of his other work such as At Home that centers around a tour of his English home, or A Short History of Nearly Everything that examines the history of scientific discoveries, One Summer uses the relatively weak theme of events that occurred over the course of a year.
But quite a lot happens within a country as large as the US in this timeframe, and most of these things are completely unrelated to one another. In order to capture these events, Bryson shifts the narrative of the book abruptly between the dissimilar topics of Ruth and Mt. Rushmore, flag pole sitting and prohibition, Coolidge and Capone, in a distracting fashion.
Though Bryson attempts to ease these transitions by returning to chronicle the life of Charles Lindbergh throughout the book, this turns out to be a rather weak thread with which to bind the story. Lest I leave too negative an impression, let me say again that the book is really quite good and well worth reading. Oct 10, Tracee rated it it was amazing. The title is a bit of a misnomer, as 'One Summer' is much more expansive than its title suggests.
The book is a social and cultural history of America during the s, which reads something like a modern version of the classic 'Only Yesterday' by Frederick Allen Lewis. The book does not present any new research or conclusions, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable read, as Bryson is a gifted storyteller with a special talent for illuminating the most interesting and entertaining details of every h The title is a bit of a misnomer, as 'One Summer' is much more expansive than its title suggests.
The book does not present any new research or conclusions, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable read, as Bryson is a gifted storyteller with a special talent for illuminating the most interesting and entertaining details of every historical character and episode. The period is one that often fades into the background between the world wars that proceeded and followed it, but in Bryson's vivid retelling, one is able to feel some of the excitement of this fascinating, transformative time in American history.
Aug 13, Jaylia3 rated it it was amazing. Bill Bryson is a writer who could make anything fascinating and he really shines in this book. Jul 18, Scott rated it it was amazing Shelves: Millions of words have been spent singing Bill Bryson's praises, so please allow me to add to them. His latest work of brilliant, comedic non-fiction, "One Summer: America, ," ranks among his greatest works.
It's hard to think of a more insightful, more hilarious author working today. Bryson's thesis is simple - America in the summer of may not have realized it, but it was taking its first steps as a world leader - in economics, in the arts, in sports, and in technology.
Some of these de Millions of words have been spent singing Bill Bryson's praises, so please allow me to add to them. Some of these developments were good, while others were reprehensible. Bryson manages to find either the humanity or the hilarity in each development - sometimes finding both. Much of the book revolves around Charles Lindbergh's unimaginable feat of crossing the Atlantic in a plane. Today we don't think about Lindbergh much, but this event galvanized the world as no other event had previously done.
Bryson writes at length about the other efforts to accomplish the same or similar feats and how many good men and the occasional good woman of several different countries died in the attempt. Bryson also focuses on how Lindbergh coped with being the most famous and adored person alive. Lindbergh remains the heart of this dizzying book. But by no means is Lindbergh the sole focus. Lindbergh's feat had tremendous economic consequences as it sparked the American aviation industry to unparalleled heights.
This was also the summer where the seeds of the Great Depression were sown, and it was also the summer where "talkies" drowned out silent films. We also saw Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the New York Yankees transform baseball with possibly the greatest season ever played by an American sports franchise.
But the Yankees faced an unexpected threat in popularity thanks to Jack Dempsey's murderous fists in the boxing ring.
And then there were the huge yet somehow peripheral events such as not one but two Trials of the Century, the devastating Mississippi flood that gave Herbert Hoover yet another reason to be President, and Calvin Coolidge's shocking decision not to run for re-election. Rushmore also began construction and the eugenics movement the belief that the elected state government could, under the Constitution, unilaterally decide to sterilize those Americans lacking the necessary positive attributes to contribute to society gained considerable steam on both sides of the Atlantic I'm looking at you, Nazi Germany.
And there was this little thing called the creation of television. Bryson writes about all these various strands of American life, interweaving a comic, often heart-warming tale of people striving for great things and occasionally achieving them. Indeed, some of the connections are downright creepy they are so coincidental. America in was emerging as a world power and seemed poised on a new era of unbridled prosperity that will never end. If you're a Bryson fan, you must read this book. If you're not a Bryson fan, you must read this book. Mar 02, Sheri rated it really liked it Shelves: Oh Bill, Bill, Bill, how I wish you were my uncle.
I would love to have dinner and sit around and just listen to you talk and tell stories. Every time I read a Bryson book I am amazed at his easy going, funny tone coupled with research. I'm sure he does not actually sound this great in conversation, but boy can he write a nonfiction book. Seriously, he manages to teach a bunch of stuff and even spew for pages on end about baseball statistics without my eyes rolling back into my head. I would have to say that the s are my favorite era romantic and elegant and featuring bold women historically and I have read a bunch about this time in US history.
BUT I didn't know hardly anything about Harding or Coolidge or Hoover and nothing really about Babe Ruth other than he was a baseball great and ate pig's testicles The aviation stuff I mostly knew, but Bryson manages to make it not boring upon repetition. Some things I learned: During prohibition the federal government actively poisoned drinkers I knew that people were poisoned because of poorly developed alcohol, but not that the feds were poisoning alcohol and then RELEASING it into the "wild" as it were and that "officialdom was prepared to deliver to its own citizens an agonizing death for engaging in an act that had until recently been an accepted part of civilized life, was still legal nearly everywhere else in the world, and was patently harmless in moderation.
In years, the world will not remember us or our folly. Henry Ford attempted to build a utopian suburban American style in the middle of the Amazon jungle and failed miserably so that he could have a stonger hold on rubber production. He also did not really hold onto his lead in the auto industry immediately after the Model T came out. Obviously, Ford has not been the leader for years, but I didn't realize just how quickly he lost his priority.
Farnsworth developed the first TV and a physicist named Lawrence used his technology to develop the first particle accelerator. Fermi-lab is situated on Farnsworth Rd. In general he just has a great tone and knows a lot and his books are always worthwhile. My performance would suffer. Nik Cohn was a huge rock writing influence on you.
What was it about his writing that you connected to? He was screamingly funny, with apparently absolute confidence in his own taste. My own star began to rise very quickly after I perfected my imitation of him. What other music writers did you like in the beginning and later during the 70s?
Lester Bangs used to change his mind all the time about records he once slammed. My review was very sober and boring. I hate it much more confidently than I did at the time. All that infernal screeching! All that showing off on the guitar! All those interminable versions of Joan Baez songs! And not a trace of the things I adore—melody, vocal harmony, expressive musicianship, and intelligence, or at least wit.
I was duly amused, and used it as the title of a chapter in my autobiography. I began dressing up like a rock star as soon as I was old enough to buy my own clothing. As a year-old senior at Santa Monica High School, I bought myself a pair of Thom McAn Beatle boots and a plush velour turtleneck that inspired some of my classmates to question my heterosexuality. In fact, it was my heterosexuality that inspired me to dress like the musicians I idolized.
What I wanted mostly was to shame groups like Motley Crue, which I regard, along with Kiss, as the worst in the history of the music, off the face of the planet. Creem always looked woefully amateurish. It was my wonderful taste in graphic design, we pause to note, that led to my becoming a graphic designer in the 90s.
Rhino offered me money. The Kinks were a band that moved you when you were younger. Do they still move you? Powerman , still gives me great pleasure. I believe that Ray Davies went off his game in around and has never been remotely the same. Are there any newer bands in rock that make you feel like The Kinks once did?
Do you read rock journalism today and if so, what mags and writers do you like? Gina Arnold, whose work has always struck me as a remarkable meeting of completely unfounded self-assurance and glaring incompetence. I believe her to be the worst critic of anything in the English language. Just what it says. They will be published next spring in the UK, to which I might relocate if Mr. Barney Hoskyns offers me the use of one of his multiple guest bedrooms. You have not written rock criticism in 14 years. You have been creating music though since that time.
Please tell us about your new music and the songs you have written lately? A couple of sample verses:. God, was I a fool Any day you can nearly die laughing or curl up and ache with despair I choose the former. Wow… John Mendelssohn… I thought he was dead. Might as well have said……ummmm…. His brother played in CM. I played in a band called Central… we wanted to be a sort of twisted, cheaper, more commercialized version of what Frank Zappa was doing.
Of course we failed miserably… but it was a good run. Waaayyy back then CM was one of the few bands I kind of identified with… for better or worse. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new posts via email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.