Really fun view of the early 20th century
921620
Follet takes on a handful of story lines of people from different nations all of which will be greatly effected by the Great War.
694474
Wonderful book from a great perspective on an interesting time.
3485841
The Great Depression was before my time, but I certainly remember my grandparents talking about it. This book is a fascinating glimpse into an important time in our country's history, but in an area that is of more interest to me than dates and events: how people actually lived. The section on tiny apartments with their "modern" kitchenettes (absurdly small kitchens meant to suit working women) built to satisfy a post-war housing crisis is amusing and kind of depressing. Very enjoyable read.
4072472
...of the 20th century. The language and the plot encapsulate everything you need to know about the age. I love it.
2699371
This broad-ranging survey of the 20th-century horror film is great fun.  It reminds me of another milestone study from about 1967, Carlos Clarens' "An Illustrated History of the Horror Film."  The high points are here, and the book provides a comprehensive (though necessarily brief) look at various movements and signal films from the canon.

Even if you know all this stuff and are a big fan of the classics (that's me), you'll enjoy Konow's engaging style and amusing anecdotes.  I especially enjoyed early sections on the rise of the "monster kids," the 50s and 60s generation that read EC comics and "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine and inhaled every even remotely scary film that hit the theatres or the TV-- "Did you see Twilight Zone last night??  That was so COOL!!"

Horror films rise and fall in popularity, never really achieving much in the way of legitimacy (though "Silence of the Lambs" won an Oscar), but the slavish devotion to the form by impressionable minds remains.  Read this for the whole story-- it's an enjoyable and informative ride.
1692333
I first read this book back in the late seventies when it was a bit more timely a piece of silliness, and truly enjoyed it for just what it offered itself up as - a silly comedy. I had just read Curzon's "Something You do in the Dark" and "Revolt of the Perverts", and reading this book was a real joy to the heart after all the depressing, heart-wrenching pages I went through with the other books.  I wish there were other books out today that were just plain silly like this instead of so futilely romantically gut-wrenching.  I'm not saying I don't like those stories as well because I do, I really do.  But sometimes it's nice to be able to get away from the reality of it all if only for awhile, that's all.
  Yes, it is dated, but I'm still around from those times - graduated college during those years.  And I'll bet there are a lot of old timers like me still around who wouldn't mind reminiscing about the old times, and the occasional silliness of the era.
2892454
This book gives you a wonderful insight into life in the mid-20th Century. The well-researched characters are brought to life and the twists and turns in the plot of relationships makes this a real page turner. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend it!
3765917
I feel like an incredible window has opened for me in understanding america at the turn of the 20th century. The authors depth of detail allows for a much better understand of the connections and relationships while at the same time not being so heavy as to be boring.
541468
Morley describes some of his Philly jaunts in 1918--1920 in a literary style that is entertaining and insightful.  He includes urban as well as suburban venues in his travels and they are reminders that the best way to "see" any geographical area is on foot.  Although he editorializes every now and then, sometimes sanctimoniously, his travel eye is accurate.  And, amazingly, some of the sights he describes are still there.
577429
Really good reading, and not only for those who lived that era.
1697818
This book transports you to 1920's English countryside estate life. Plenty of time for ennui, long sermons, elaborately constructed ideas (included several which later appear in Brave New World), coming-of-age angst, and a set of interesting characters.

I had much more fun reading this than I had expected. A very  nice, light surprise.
327956
This book presents 72 pieces from the early years of Vanity Fair, 1913-1936, when the magazine was, in the Graydon Carter's words, "the bible for the smart set." The list of noteworthy contributors is mindboggling, as is the range of subjects, which include World War I, prohibition, the stock market crash, art (early plans for a modern art museum in New York) music, movies (I especially enjoyed reading about the success of Tarzan) and people (lots of vivid character sketches of people like Harpo Marx, Joan Crawford, Babe Ruth, Cole Porter)  I was surprised at the wide range of opinions about women, particularly those of Hyman Strunsky and Anne O'Hagan.

This a pretty hefty book, and not all articles will appeal to everyone. Some of them come across as quite cynical, and there are shades of racism and other expressions of intolerance. I found the articles about the depression and the stock market crash the most interesting and at times, moving. I loved reading the words of famous writers, but found just as much pleasure in discovering new authors.

Overall, there is much to enjoy here (4.5 stars) and it is great to broaden one's perspective on the catastrophic events of those years.
4333278
If you are interested in the history of the 20th century this book is a real page turner. Very well researched.
1907781
As much as anything else, it was terrific fun being taken back to the late 80s and early 90s. The book is a reminder of just how different things were then, with half the country watching some of these fights. That sense of a shared cultural experience is very rare these days, especially in the case of boxing. As well as the analysis of the various bouts, it's interesting to have the narrative interwoven with various other salient cultural currents changing the face of the country such as the rise of Sky and pay-per-view, the somewhat Thatcherite nature of Benn and Eubank etc.
4590435
I have several books about the 1920s and about Paris in the 20s. This is easily the best because it moves year by year and does not paint a uniformly rosy picture of a decade in which there were troublesome times and well as jazzy times. We tend to overomanticize the 20s. This book gives a more realistic picture of the threats on the horizon of the later years of the decade. The illustrations are especially good. I'd like to have seen more of them.
1259263
Even in it's time, it would be difficult to call this a travel book.  It's really more Ian Fleming essays with the "thrilling cities" as a backdrop.  However, as such I found it fascinating.  For me, it provided a lot of background for the 007 stories -- the travel, the characters (the individuals he discusses in Macao remind me exactly of potential James Bond villains), and even some of the plotlines in his discussions of the Triads or mob influence in Las Vegas.  I also found it to be a really interesting first-hand account of a well-off white male living in 1960, i.e. PRE-political correctness.  It's like watching Mad Men, except basically real.  The unabashed racism and sexism really jumped out at me and made me laugh to think of a time in which that sort of behavior was considered perfectly normal, if not expected.
274025
Great perspective of a 20th century person going back to the 1850s , especially  as a black person. Sad days !