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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crucial guide of the 1920s...the story starts with Allen!,
By American_History_Rocks (Southeastern Michigan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Only Yesterday (Paperback)
Only Yesterday offers a glimpse into the nineteen twenties from someone who actually lived it. First published in 1931, Frederick Lewis Allen writes of a decade that had just past. Most historians will tell you that it takes about twenty years after a decade before you can truly come to terms with what the decade was all about. However, this was not the case with Frederick Lewis Allen's work. He was able to show the decade for what it was, a truly amazing accomplishment in 1931! His purpose was to show future generations, what his generation considered important in defining their times. In doing so he helped create a bridge between his generation and future generations who would later conduct research on the 1920s. In fact, while studying this period one soon find out, most historical works on the 1920s site Only Yesterday in their bibliographies. In fact, a through and comprehensive study of this period is not possible unless it includes Frederick Lewis Allen's works. Furthermore, Fredrick Lewis Allen attempted to record the social and cultural history of the times. In 1931 this was a new and different form of history. (Just about as radical as the 1920s.) Frederick Lewis Allen can be regarded as a pioneer social historian. Prior to his work most mainstream histories were based solely on politics and international affairs. More than half of Only Yesterday is on social and cultural events, which is one of the strongest points in his book. With the exceptions of chapters two and six, "Back To Normalcy" and "Harding And The Scandals", Allen's writings are geared towards the common people and how events of the day and the cultural changes affected them. These events and cultural changes are clearly illustrated in chapters five, "The Revolution In Manners And Morals" and chapters eight, "The Ballyhoo Years". Allen was able to show his readers the major social/cultural events of the 1920s. An example is his coverage of the automobile and the "Red Scare" in the early years of the decade. Clearly his coverage of these two events are his strongest points. His writing style deserves some mentioning. He writes in a style that allows for a multitude of readership interest areas: politics, social, cultural, industrial, religion and even sports. This is especially seen in his sometimes-humorous approach in covering certain topics. Another, great example of his writing abilities is his narrowing of a central point at the conclusion of his paragraph. Without any doubt, the strength of his work certainly out number his few weaknesses. I truly enjoy reading Allen's book. In the future I will revisit Allen's work for his superb writing style and his gift of narrowing his main points at the end of his paragraphs. A truly remarkable book!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent,
This review is from: Only Yesterday (Paperback)
This history book is written in a pleasant, authoritative but laid-back manner that makes it a particularly enjoyable read. I concur with the reviewer who wrote that it is a great source of background information to the writer. It does have a nice immediacy to it; strange fads that are mentioned in an offhand way, with the assumption that the reader will already be familiar with them, only add to the charm. The last couple of chapters about the stock market are particularly interesting reading, particularly considering the bizarrely similar economic climate we are living in today. They are, thankfully, written in a straightforward and clear manner --- perfectly accessible to those of us who don't have an economics background. One beef with this paperback edition --- where are the lovely illustrations from the original addition?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating coverage of the "Roaring Twenties",
By A Customer
This review is from: Only Yesterday (Paperback)
The shame is that many modern history textbooks barely cover some material while diving into other periods of history. As an Advanced Placement United States History student during my junior year in high school (last year), I was given the opportunity to read Allen's work on the 1920s. Allen's journalistic style and thorough coverage of the events during the "Roaring Twenties" made this a fascinating read. The book is so well done that I had to occasionally stop and remind myself that this was written right after the decade addressed--it could have been written in the 1990s! The only major difficulty with this book (a minor one it is) is the explanation of how the stock market crashed (there are many numbers and examples cited), but it IS more thorough than most high school textbooks. What's also nice is that it covered the whole spectrum: politics, social atmosphere, the economy, etc. Many books focus only on one or two. This is a great resource for those who wish to understand what may be one of the most interesting decades of the twentieth century. It's a shame that "Still Yesterday" covering the 1930s is out of print-- it'd hate to miss more of Allen's wonderful work.
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