Customer Reviews

Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life, 1876-1915 (Everyday Life in America)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Make no mistake about it: this book is less a history of everyday life in the United States in the Gilded Age than it is an encyclopedia of an astonishing range of facts about life in that period arranged around a series of very general themes. In a lesser book, this could be accounted a flaw, but in Schlereth's case it is a virtue because of the quality and pertinence of the particular bits of information that Schlereth pulls together. I felt I came away from the book not merely with a deeper knowledge of what life was like in America around the beginning of the 20th century, but a deeper appreciation for and sense of what life was like at the time. This was especially brought home to me upon reading SISTER CARRIE by Theodore Dreiser shortly upon finishing Schlereth's book. On almost every page I remembered something from his book that illumined in some way or other the events in that novel (which was published in 1900, but set in around 1890).

What I most appreciate about the book is the sense that it was during this period that a way of life that most people living today would recognize and feel at home with developed. Most of the conveniences that we take for granted--grocery and department stores, electricity, the telephone, our particular forms of housing, indoor plumbing, and a host of other services and products, all became prevalent during the period covered in this book. I urge anyone with an interest in the deep background of life in this century a century ago to look closely at this volume

I'm an old house owner (and writer!) who was *searching* for answers to the curiosities of old house living, 100 years ago.

I found this book 100% fascinating. Lots and lots of "aha...that's why they did that..."

I originally checked it out of the library and then found it so intriguing, I purchased my own copy.

As a prior reviewer said, it is an unusual book because it deals with the 1001 nuances of everyday life in an average person's day. GREAT reading.

Rose Thornton
author, The Houses That Sears Built
co-author, California's Kit Homes

I had to read this book for a history class and I must say that I was extremely impressed. This book does not concern itself with wars or political leaders, but instead focuses on the everyday life for the ordinary American. This is a social history, presenting the dramatic change that occurred in the workplace, housing preferences and communication, during the years of 1876 to 1915. It is a very vivid account of this age and one can learn a lot about what it was like to live in America during this time period, by just reading the book. I highly recommend it.

This well written, thematic presentation of American history from 1876 to 1915 is structured around short accounts of the Centennial Expo in Philadelphia (1876), the World's Columbian Expo in Chicago (1893) and the Panama-Pacific Expo in San Francisco (1915). The eight chapters enclosed in these snap-shots are: Moving, Working, Housing, Consuming, Communicating, Playing, Striving, Living and Dying, each with detaild endnotes. Within these chapters, the reader will learn about the invention of standard (railway) time, the development of clothing sizes and chain stores, the importation (from Germany) of grad school and the birth of Kodak, amoung other interesting things. If you think American history is due to its treatment in high-school and college textbooks, take a look at this book (and others that appeard in The Everyday Life in America series, all of which deal with material culture). You will find very little on government policy, foreign affairs, wars, etc. but a wealth of information on what real life was like at the time. By the way, all of the volumes contain illustrations and an index.

Victorian America is a breezy yet intelligent overview of American life, especially middle class life, from 1876-1915. At times it reads as almost a laundry list of innovations and changes, but that's not a bad approach. This time period in American history is fascinating but extremely complex. The author manages to explain why the changes in technology affected the social life of today's Americans without being boring. This book serves as a great introduction to a pivotal turning point.

This was purchased to help with research for this time of our history. It is excellent and has provided much needed and trustworthy information.

This is the best book I have found so far detailing life in Victorian America.

I read this book for a class and I am glad it was assigned because I learned so much from reading it. However, this is not a book I'd expect anyone to read for pleasure.

The book is a social history of post-Reconstruction to about World War I. The author breaks down categories of everyday life -- housing, working, playing, etc. -- showing how much things changed during that 40-year period. And it is loaded with information. I learned that Americans used to buy houses from the Sears catalog; I learned of the origins of some of the more popular department stores and products of today, like Filene's and Post cereal; I learned about the early stages of the telephone and voice recorder. It was very educational.

However, it reads like a textbook. There's no color here, just one fact after another. It serves its purpose as an informative book that provides background for a class on that era, but it's hardly the kind of book you take to the beach for a relaxing, smooth read.

The book overviews the Victorian period, touching on a vast array of topics that would have influenced the daily lives of ordinary people. I would highly recommend it for those looking to introduce themselves to this age or those interested in the factors leading the changes of the times. However, it does not go into deep discussion / explanation on individual topics. I would consider this an introductory book rather than an instructional book.

I bought this to use as a textbook for my own indepedent study of Victorian American history. At first I was a bit disappointed because it didn't offer much attention to the broad outlines of the era - the presidents, the wars and other major personalities and events. Instead it was more about the details of everyday life for the average American, with chapters on topics such as work, play and housing.

But this book really grew on me, as I found myself transported to an earlier time where I could imagine what it was like to live 100 years ago. Part of what makes this book successful is that the era itself is so interesting. The "Gilded Age" was certainly a time of rapid transformations in American life, as people increasingly moved from the country to the city, major technological innovations, such as the electric light bulb and the telephone, occurred, the population and consumerism both dramatically increased and the beginnings of modern life and a youth orientated culture began to take shape.

The time between the end of Reconstruction and World War I is probably the most overlooked in American history. But I came away from this book feeling that these years, from 1876 - 1915, were also among the most important.