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1920: The Year that Made the Decade Roar

de Eric Burns

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1105246,002 (4.14)3
One of the most dynamic eras in American history, the 1920s began with a watershed year that would set the tone for the century to follow. The Roaring Twenties is the only decade in American history with a widely applied nickname, and our collective fascination with this era continues. But how did this surge of innovation and cultural milestones emerge out of the ashes of World War I? Acclaimed author Eric Burns investigates the year 1920, which was not only a crucial twelve-month period of its own, but one that foretold the future. 1920 foreshadowed the rest of the twentieth century and the early years of the twenty-first, whether it was Sacco and Vanzetti or the stock market crash that brought this era to a close. Burns sets the record straight about this most misunderstood and iconic of periods. Despite being the first full year of armistice, 1920 was not a peaceful period-it contained the greatest act of terrorism in American history to that time. And while 1920 is thought of as the beginning of a prosperous era, for most people life had never been more unaffordable. Meanwhile, African Americans were putting their stamp on culture. And though people today imagine the frivolous image of the flapper dancing the night away, the truth was that a new kind of power had been bestowed on women, and it had nothing to do with the dance floor. From prohibition to immigration, the birth of jazz, the rise of expatriate literature, and the original Ponzi scheme, 1920 was truly a year like no other.… (més)
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Starting with the mysterious and famous Wall Street bombing that took place in January of 1920, Eric Burns takes us through the many ups and downs of the year he pens "that made the decade roar". We all think of the roaring twenties as an easy-go-lucky times of frolicking flappers dancing the nights away and of the endless flow of booze behind secret speakeasy doors! Not so. Although there was a little of that going on, it was not as much as we have been lead to believe and times then were hard and at times dangerous. There was no money, there was no easy way to acquire pure alcohol, much went into obtaining any amount of booze, whether from Canada or from unethical ingredients.

Covering events such as the Volstead Act, better known as the 18th Amendment, or what we call the Prohibition era, Eric Burns writes a wonderful account of the trials and tribulations of the American People that year. Details on the rum running and rotgut whiskey creations, the occurrences that would lead up to the Depression, and the exciting battle to be won for the Women's Right to Vote are revealed in a very readable manner that reads like fiction. The author's style for this history book is not dry and factual as some can be and I found it engrossing to learn the details of this troublesome time in our country's history.

It was fun to learn about one of our bright lights, the birth of Jazz, and how Louis Armstrong, New Orlean's Boy Wonder started it all at a very young age. On the dark side, learning about the rise and growth of the Klu Klux Klan was deeply disturbing. Burn's retelling of the West Virginia coal miner's strike that caused fear in the hearts of Americans who worried about getting through the winter cold weather without heat, and how Teddy Roosevelt then President had to step in and negotiate us out of the mess, was also an eye-opening situation that can make us understand how very hard life in in the past was, and how incredibly lucky we are today.

There are two chapters that I found the highlights of the book. The first being the life and work of Margaret Sanger who fought for women to obtain birth control and her life work that ended up starting the Planned Parenthood Program. The second was the incredible life of con-man and financial wizard, Carlo Ponzi. He created the "Get-Rich-Quick Scheme" and was often sliding just a bit over the line of law and found himself in and out of jail, and exiled from country to country for his evil ways.

1920 was the year that Americans could first hear a radio broadcast so they could listen to election details, music and sports. It was also the year of the disastrous Harding administration, an incompetent President who hung out with his circle of criminal friends that were called the Ohio Gang. Ending this year of roller coaster events, Eric Burns finishes off with an interesting report on how new authors and styles of fictional novels turned the tide for literary history, as well as describes the wonderful world of the Harlem Renaissance and the great effects it had on the African Americans of the time.

I feel bad that there are a lot of negative or average reviews for this tremendously researched and marvelous retelling of an important year of our past. I absolutely loved the book and Highly recommend it to anyone who loves history. Five Star read for sure! ( )
  vernefan | Jul 26, 2018 |
On the one hand this was a very interesting book but on the other there is just so much happening that at times I felt overwhelmed by it all. Burns does good research into his topic and he gives the reader lots of information; not just about people or events but about how these people and events were able to happen. He gives so much about individuals from their births all the way to death that at times I was wondering why he felt that I needed to know everything. That said I enjoy this book. Burns makes a good narrative about the year that started so much of what happened in the twenties and for the rest of the century. With good notes in the back for more research, if you so desire, there is much to learn about the 1920s and Burns gives a good place to start.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars.
  lrainey | May 4, 2016 |
5358. 1920 The Year That Made the Decade Roar, by Eric Burns (read 14 Mar 2016) This is a journalistic account of 1920 in the United States, published in 2015. (It reminds one of that classic account of the 1920's, Only Yesterday, by Frederick Lewis Allen, which I read with great appreciation on 21 May 1946.) This book spends a lot of time on the Wall Street bombing of Sept. 16, 1920, and on Charles Ponzi, and on Prohibition, and on the beginnings of radio, and on Harding and his corrupt administration, and other things happening around 1920. I was disturbed by errors, such as saying Woodrow Wilson was re-elected Governor of New Jersey--he never was: he was elected governor in 1910 and in 1912 he was elected president. And saying that Buck v. Bell sustained a Tennessee statute--it sustained a Virginia statute. And saying on page 180 that the 14 Points was a first draft of the League of Nations--only point 14 referred to the League; and saying on page 187 that there were 400 members of the House of Representatives--there were 435 and had been that many since 1913; and indicating on page 189 that mourning for Lincoln was less than for Harding, FDR, and Kennedy; (no famed poem such as O Captain, My Captain was written re the later presidents' deaths) and saying on page 191 that Harding when elected President was a former Senator--he was a Senator and did not resign as Senator till Jan 13, 1921; and saying on page 192 that radio election results were broadcast the same hour as the votes were cast, which is absurd--the results could not be broadcast till the polls closed and the votes counted, and saying on page 214 that Fall's nomination to be Secretary of the Interior "passed both both houses of Congress"--the House has nothing to do with nominations to the Cabinet. And on page 216 that Edward Doheny never stood trial for his role in Teapot Dome--he was tried twice for his role and acquitted both times (because he had such a good lawyer--Frank J. Hogan,--whose reputation was still great when I was in law school in the early 1950's) And on page 219 saying that Coolidge "sped to Washington to be sworn in " as president--it is well-known Coolidge's father swore him in before he went to Washington after Harding's death. You say these are minor things? True, but they show a sloppiness in research that even I noted--how many other things that I do not know are wrong? So this is disturbing and could have been so easily avoided by careful proofreading. ( )
2 vota Schmerguls | Mar 14, 2016 |
An amazing book about an amazing year:
Two Amendments to the Constitution:
18th--Prohibition did cut down some on consumption of alcohol but the concoctions that replaced legal booze were often deadly (mixed drinks gained popularity since the noxious alcohol was diluted and thus somewhat more safe). And of course, this one has been repealed.

19th--Woman's Suffrage finally granted at the National level in the US, obviously and incredibly long overdue.

Infamous events:
Terrorist explosion on Wall Street-exploded horse cart-and you thought terrorist bombing was a new phenomena.

The original Ponzi scheme

An incapacitated president, the first lady Edith Wilson, essentially, secretly assumed many presidential functions, deciding which issues to present to Woodrow Wilson who was gravely ill. And this was followed by the unbelievably corrupt Harding administration in 1921.

New developments in society:
Planned Parenthood

The Jazz Age-exciting and exotic new music styles

The advent of radio with rapidly increasing sales of radios and a rush of new stations

All of these 1920 happenings are influenced by the recently ended World War and relative prosperity. Little did they know that a Great Depression was looming at the end of the decade followed by an even more horrendous World War ten years after that!!

The author presents the material in a very readable style, giving the reader a good taste of the times and the importance of these events.



( )
  jwood652 | Oct 21, 2015 |
An amazing book about an amazing year:
Two Amendments to the Constitution:
18th--Prohibition did cut down some on consumption of alcohol but the concoctions that replaced legal booze were often deadly (mixed drinks gained popularity since the noxious alcohol was diluted and thus somewhat more safe). And of course, this one has been repealed.

19th--Woman's Suffrage finally granted at the National level in the US, obviously and incredibly long overdue.

Infamous events:
Terrorist explosion on Wall Street-exploded horse cart-and you thought terrorist bombing was a new phenomena.

The original Ponzi scheme

An incapacitated president, the first lady Edith Wilson, essentially, secretly assumed many presidential functions, deciding which issues to present to Woodrow Wilson who was gravely ill. And this was followed by the unbelievably corrupt Harding administration in 1921.

New developments in society:
Planned Parenthood

The Jazz Age-exciting and exotic new music styles

The advent of radio with rapidly increasing sales of radios and a rush of new stations

All of these 1920 happenings are influenced by the recently ended World War and relative prosperity. Little did they know that a Great Depression was looming at the end of the decade followed by an even more horrendous World War ten years after that!!

The author presents the material in a very readable style, giving the reader a good taste of the times and the importance of these events.



( )
  jwood652 | Oct 21, 2015 |
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One of the most dynamic eras in American history, the 1920s began with a watershed year that would set the tone for the century to follow. The Roaring Twenties is the only decade in American history with a widely applied nickname, and our collective fascination with this era continues. But how did this surge of innovation and cultural milestones emerge out of the ashes of World War I? Acclaimed author Eric Burns investigates the year 1920, which was not only a crucial twelve-month period of its own, but one that foretold the future. 1920 foreshadowed the rest of the twentieth century and the early years of the twenty-first, whether it was Sacco and Vanzetti or the stock market crash that brought this era to a close. Burns sets the record straight about this most misunderstood and iconic of periods. Despite being the first full year of armistice, 1920 was not a peaceful period-it contained the greatest act of terrorism in American history to that time. And while 1920 is thought of as the beginning of a prosperous era, for most people life had never been more unaffordable. Meanwhile, African Americans were putting their stamp on culture. And though people today imagine the frivolous image of the flapper dancing the night away, the truth was that a new kind of power had been bestowed on women, and it had nothing to do with the dance floor. From prohibition to immigration, the birth of jazz, the rise of expatriate literature, and the original Ponzi scheme, 1920 was truly a year like no other.

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