Bryson chronicles the events and personalities of the summer of 1927, when Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, Ruth closed in on the home run record, Capone tightened his grip on bootlegging, the first true "talkie" was filmed, and Americans in general attempted and accomplished outsized things.--From publisher description.

Updated to include a new chapter about the influence of social media and the Internet--the 20th anniversary edition of Bowling Alone remains a seminal work of social analysis, and its examination of what happened to our sense of community remains more relevant than ever in today's fractured America. Twenty years ago, Robert D. Putnam made a seemingly simple observation: once we bowled in leagues, usually after work; but no longer. This seemingly small...

A critique of the white American class structure argues that the paths of social mobility that once advanced the nation are now serving to further isolate an elite upper class while enforcing a growing and resentful white underclass.

Describes the insidious beliefs and institutions that undermined women's confidence in their intellectual capabilities and kept them in the home. Writing in a time when the average woman first married in her teens and 60 percent of women students dropped out of college to marry, Betty Friedan captured the frustrations and thwarted ambitions of a generation and showed women how they could reclaim their lives.

"Persons of all ages, occupations, and classes scattered across the United States remember what they experienced or were told about the economic crisis of the 1930s. The result is a social document of immense interest."

"In 1942, Hazel Francis leaves Wichita, Kansas, for California to do her part for the war effort. At Douglas Aircraft, she becomes one of many "Rosie the Riveters," helping construct bombers for the U.S. military. She excels at the job and takes a pride in her work that she's never felt before. But when the war is over, men return to their factory jobs, and women like Hazel are dismissed, expected to return home to become wives and mothers. With no...

For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale comes an internationally bestselling World War II novel that spans generations, crosses oceans, and proves just how much two young women are willing to sacrifice for love and family.
1940: As the Germans advance upon Paris, young seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee everything she's ever known. She's bound for New York City with her signature gold dress, a few francs,...

This vivid New York Times bestseller about 1950s America from a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist is “an engrossing sail across a pivotal decade” (Time).
Joe McCarthy. Marilyn Monroe. The H-bomb. Ozzie and Harriet. Elvis. Civil rights. It’s undeniable: The fifties were a defining decade for America, complete with sweeping cultural change and political upheaval. This decade is also the focus...

Through photographs, illustrations, and both factual and fictionalized anecdotes, shows what life was like in the United States during the Depression.

The American decade known as "The Roaring Twenties" continues to hold our collective fascination. But how did this surge of innovation and cultural milestones emerge from the ashes of The Great War? Eric Burns examines the crucial year of 1920, the first full year of armistice. From prohibition to immigration, the vote for women, the birth of jazz, the rise of expatriate literature, and the original Ponzi scheme, 1920 was a year like no other.