2013;
456 pages. Full Title : One Summer –
America, 1927. New Author? : No. Genre
: Non-Fiction; American History. Overall
Rating : 8½*/10.
Hey, do you remember what all went down during
the summer of 1927?
Well, that was a bit before my time.
But as a baseball buff, I do recall that the 1927 New York Yankees
kicked butt that whole season, with Babe Ruth hitting 60 home runs and Lou
Gehrig slugging almost as many.
And
upon further reflection, I think that was the year Charles Lindbergh made the
first nonstop, transatlantic flight, going from New York to Paris, and all by hiself to boot. But that’s about all I can come up with.
Well,
Bill Bryson has dug up all sorts of other newsworthy events that happened
in America that summer. Some of them
were world-changers, others made a brief splash in the newspapers, then faded quickly from public memory.
But all of them were important to someone, and, when written about with Bryson's deft pen, are fascinating to read about.
What’s To Like...
The title tells you everything you need to know about the book: One Summer – America 1927 is all about what made the headlines across
the country during a busy time in our nation's history. There are
gruesome murders, historical flights, memorable sports events, idiotic
regulations (Prohibition), foolish business adventures, and many more. Bill Bryson divides the book up into 30
chapters (plus a prologue and epilogue), and clumps them loosely into five main sections that focus
on the bigger stories : “The Kid” (Lindbergh), “The Babe” (Ruth), "The President" (Calvin
Coolidge), "The Anarchists" (Sacco and Vanzetti), and the catch-all
“Summer’s End”.
The topics in the chapters jump around a bit, which keeps thing fresh. Bryson’s research is deep, fascinating, and
meticulously detailed. Almost every
character encountered in the book has their own idiosyncrasies (aka, skeletons in
the closet), and the “dirt” Bryson reveals will keep you turning the
pages. The last chapter in the book, the
Epilogue, wraps things up nicely, and is particularly moving.
The
major storylines are of course interesting, but I especially enjoyed reading about events that
have long disappeared into the mists or conveniently covered up. To wit:
Henry Ford’s insane attempt to build a company community in the jungles
of Brazil (“Fordlandia”).
The US government deliberately poisoning its citizens via industrial alcohol. If you died from drinking it, well, you got
what you deserved.
Wayne Bidwell Wheeler’s zealous and insane efforts to develop the
Prohibition movement.
The origin of hot dogs.
The eccentric and rich Van Sweringen brothers.
The forcible sterilization of 60,000 Americans deemed to be
sub-human.
The cultural silliness of flagpole-sitting.
The start of the sculpting of Mount Rushmore.
The rise of the Age of Radio, and the dawning of the Age of Television.
The book is well-formatted, with an Index, a “Further Reading” section,
and some way-kewl photographs. As
always, Bryson’s writing, wit, and attention to minutiae will hold your
interest throughout.
Kewlest New Word ...
Farrago (n.)
: a confused mixture; hodgepodge
Others : Swart
(adj,; archaic)
Excerpts...
In desperation,
lawmakers tried to legislate probity. In
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a local law made it an offense for dancing partners to gaze
into each other’s eyes. In Utah, the state
legislature considered sending women to prison – not fining them, but
imprisoning them – if their skirts showed more than three inches of leg above
the ankle. In Seattle, a group called
the Clean Books League even tried to get banned the travel books of the
adventurer Richard Halliburton on the grounds that they “excited to
wanderlust.” (pg. 70)
The plot of Rio Rita was interestingly
improbable. Set in Mexico and Texas, it
involved an Irish American singer named Rio Rita, a Texas Ranger traveling
incognito while looking for a bandit named Kinkajou (who may or may not have
been Rita’s brother), a bigamous soap salesman named Chick Bean, and a
character identified only as Montezuma’s Daughter. These characters and some others of equal
implausibility engaged in a series of amusing misunderstandings interrupted at
intervals by songs that had little or nothing to do with the action that
preceded or followed. A cast of 131 and
a full orchestra provided a great deal of happy noise and spectacle, if not
always an abundance of sense. (pg.
86)
“As an author Lindbergh is
the world’s foremost aviator’.” (pg.
229 )
As
fascinating as One Summer – America, 1927
was, it was a slow read for me, mostly because I’m a history buff, and I didn’t
want to gloss over any of the details. But it was also slow because, outside of a couple grisly murders and executions, there’s not a
lot of “action”. This of course, is
something Bill Bryson had no control over.
America was in between World Wars, and for the moment everyone was
making money on the stock market.
I’ve read a number of Bill Bryson’s Travelogue books, but I had never tackled any of his History-themed efforts.
OS-A1927 was every bit as good as books like A Walk In The Woods (reviewed here), and I may have to broaden my Bryson reads.
8½ Stars.
Subtract 1 star
if you’re into hero-worship. Bryson has
never been one to cover up the warts of our sacrosanct historical figures.
