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bkeving_74's review against another edition
5.0
Great firsthand account of the 1920s
I found this to be very interesting as it is an account of this decade from one who participated in it. Therefore it is not far removed as you would usually find a detached and objective historian. Don’t misunderstand, the removed and detached and objective historian has his or her place but it is interesting to learn what it was actually like to live during this period of time.
I found this to be very interesting as it is an account of this decade from one who participated in it. Therefore it is not far removed as you would usually find a detached and objective historian. Don’t misunderstand, the removed and detached and objective historian has his or her place but it is interesting to learn what it was actually like to live during this period of time.
gjmaupin's review against another edition
5.0
If all books of history were written in a voice like Allen’s, more people would read history.
amfoltz10's review against another edition
1.0
I only have to read 5 chapters of this book and then write what I learned about the 20s from it. I'll most likely read all of it though.
reinhardt's review against another edition
4.0
An opinionated history.
Not an arms-length textbook history, it is rather a gut level look back at the roaring 20s. As it was written in 1931, the 20's were still a fresh memory. You can feel the visceral sense of the debates of the time. In that sense, it is dated. the attitude reminds me a bit of HL Mencken: snooty and dismissive, but not vitriolic.
But this 'point of view' history does provide some benefits. It makes for a lively read. It also provides a lot of social history. the fads and changes that occurred in the 20s are a big concern. It covers fashion, fads, mores, crime, prohibition, politics, scandals, and of course the economy.
In many ways, a lot of the concerns of the book sound remarkably contemporary. Socialism and the capitalist, race, new technology (radio), science vs state, the rise of entertainment, weird fads, changing morality, obsession with sex, gender norms, immigration, Asian competition, political scandals, emptying churches, nihilism, antitrust concerns, prohibition, free speech, the markets. It's as if we are rewriting the 1920s a hundred years later.
Overall, an enjoyable read to get a sense of what the 1920s felt like, at least what they felt like in the early 30s. It also shows how the time of writing has a big impact. This book says as much about 1931 as about the 1920s.
Not an arms-length textbook history, it is rather a gut level look back at the roaring 20s. As it was written in 1931, the 20's were still a fresh memory. You can feel the visceral sense of the debates of the time. In that sense, it is dated. the attitude reminds me a bit of HL Mencken: snooty and dismissive, but not vitriolic.
But this 'point of view' history does provide some benefits. It makes for a lively read. It also provides a lot of social history. the fads and changes that occurred in the 20s are a big concern. It covers fashion, fads, mores, crime, prohibition, politics, scandals, and of course the economy.
In many ways, a lot of the concerns of the book sound remarkably contemporary. Socialism and the capitalist, race, new technology (radio), science vs state, the rise of entertainment, weird fads, changing morality, obsession with sex, gender norms, immigration, Asian competition, political scandals, emptying churches, nihilism, antitrust concerns, prohibition, free speech, the markets. It's as if we are rewriting the 1920s a hundred years later.
Overall, an enjoyable read to get a sense of what the 1920s felt like, at least what they felt like in the early 30s. It also shows how the time of writing has a big impact. This book says as much about 1931 as about the 1920s.
emelkay24's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I enjoyed it! Loved the informal tone, love how Allen really grounds us in the time period. I also love that it was only written in 1931, so it’s just what the author thinks was important in the last 10 years. It’s great, I love his writing style!
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published in 1931, Only Yesterday is an informal, entertaining history of the 1920s--from the end of the Wilson years to the crash of the stock market. The author captures both the fun and the more sinister sides of the Roaring Twenties. He includes chapters on the changing moral and sexual attitudes of the decade, flappers, speakeasies, jazz, and easy credit with which to buy any number of new inventions and applicances. But he also includes the darker side of the decade--the overt racism, the hostility toward immigrants, Prohibition, the rise of the second KKK, Al Capone and the strength of organized crime, plus a look inside the Harding scandals. An easy, entertaining look at one of America's most fascinating decades.
wunder's review against another edition
5.0
A lively and intriguing book. I knew tidbits about the 1920s—flappers, Al Capone, Lindbergh—but this puts it all together in a meaningful narrative. Dramatic, too, especially the full chapter on the Big Bull Market of 1928 and 1929, when we all know what happens on October 29, 1929.
I kept making connections while reading. At one point, he was describing the major changes in literature, and I realized that this had to line up with when photographers broke with pictorialism and went to straight photography. Yep, Ansel Adams left behind pictorialism in 1922, Weston in 1923, and the Group f.64 exhibit in 1931 displayed the work done during the decade.
The acknowledgments are a reminder that the author lived the decade he's writing about. His account of Woodrow Wilson at the end of his life comes from visiting the man in 1923. His source for the founding of Simon & Schuster is William F. Simon. And so on.
I kept making connections while reading. At one point, he was describing the major changes in literature, and I realized that this had to line up with when photographers broke with pictorialism and went to straight photography. Yep, Ansel Adams left behind pictorialism in 1922, Weston in 1923, and the Group f.64 exhibit in 1931 displayed the work done during the decade.
The acknowledgments are a reminder that the author lived the decade he's writing about. His account of Woodrow Wilson at the end of his life comes from visiting the man in 1923. His source for the founding of Simon & Schuster is William F. Simon. And so on.
danyell919's review against another edition
4.0
This book was fantastic, especially since it’s a historical text written not too long after the events occurred. I learned so much about the 1920s that I did not know! I found this book because it was referenced in a book I read about the Tulsa Race Massacre. It was very interesting to read about Prohibition, organized crime, the stock market crash, and many other events! I wonder if Sharon has read this one?! There was some intriguing presidential history!