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UNCERTAINTY OF EVERYDAY LIFE: 1915-1945

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Between the ending of the First World War and the beginning of World War II, the United States rapidly became an increasingly urban culture as people left their farms to seek work in the cities. The economic enticements of industrialization during the 1920s, the devastated Midwest farming and economic restrictions during the years of "The Great Depression", the migration of blacks out of the South and into the industrial belt of the North to escape poverty and racial discrimination, all contributed to this changing demographic. Even though the standard of living improved for many American families during this period, by 1941 only half the population enjoyed the modern conveniences that are nowadays taken for granted. For many Americans, daily life was hallmarked with economic uncertainty, unpredictable jobs and wages, labor unrest, and stock market mishaps. In The Uncertainty Of Everyday Life 1915-1945, history professor Harvey Green (Northeastern University) recounts an era of unprecedented changes in American culture and the impact of those uncertain times on employment, home life, gender roles, education, religion, recreation. The Uncertainty Of Everyday Life 1915-1945 is a superb work of insightful, informative history that is exceptionally well written and highly recommended to students of American history and popular culture.

This book is essentially a text for an undergraduate survey course. As such it suffers from some of the usual maladies of history textbooks. It seems to have been compiled by committee. One wonders to whom - other than undergraduates with required reading - it is addressed.

Big, mind-numbing (because not particularly thought-provoking) statements abound. Often, they stand alone, to be followed by more big statements. For example, "Popular music gradually surpassed, but did not completely supplant, classical music on urban radio stations. In 1938 the Federal Communications Committee conducted a survey of the content of 62,000 radio hours, and found that one-third of the air time was devoted to commercials." This statement is offered, not to make a point about the growth of advertising culture but, rather, as an irrelevant topic sentence for an assortment of subsequent statements about radio content. The book is dominated by this hodge-podge effect, and the mind wanders because of it.

Precious little - whether social movements, political realities, or cultural phenomena - is given more than a few sentences. Urban culture, the labor movement, sexual mores, Christmas, fashion, funerals, comic books - all seem equally weighted. The authorial tendency toward generalization, although an accepted "register" for textbook writing, is unfortunate for what is omitted. The consequence is that students are uninspired, and aren't taught how to do history. An opportunity is lost.

The introduction would seem to promise the inclusion of at least snippets of oral history and remembrance and some primary sources, but none is included, other that what has been predigested by the author. The effect is that the reader is distanced from the material and, unfortunately, from the very interesting history it purports to introduce.

In the plus column, there are wonderful photographs and good notes, and an index. Frustrating reading.

If you want this kind of information buy "The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible" by Otto L. Bettmann (a much better book about the same period). I found Green's book chock full of information that is poorly organized and thus, difficult to read and remember. Authors of this genre must find ways to make the facts relevant and interesting or the facts become (as in this book) just a dull regurgitation of horrendous human suffering. Reading the facts about "the old days" makes one appreciate the difficulties our parents and grandparents had just to live from day to day. But there are other, better books that do this job than this one by Harvey Green.

I found this book an excellent read. Having been born three years before the end
date of this book, I found the intimate look at my Mother's world and that of my
Grandfather an excellent window. Recommended for all those who wish to know what
babies were cast out with the bathwater.