1920: the Year That Made the Decade Roar (Library)

Publisher Marketing: 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." Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2015 (EAN 9781605987729, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Publishers Weekly 03/02/2015 (EAN 9781605987729, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Library Journal 03/15/2015 pg. 118 (EAN 9781605987729, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Burns, Eric Eric Burns is a former correspondent for NBC News and the TODAY Show. For ten years he was the host of the top-rated Fox News Watch, and he has won an Emmy for media criticism. He is the author of 1920: The Year that Made the Decade Roar, Infamous Scribblers, The Spirits of America, andThe Smoke of the Gods, and the latter two were named Best of the Best by the American Library Association. Eric lives in Westport, Connecticut.