One Summer

America, 1927

Paperback, 544 pages

Published June 3, 2014 by Anchor.

ISBN:
978-0-7679-1941-8
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

Eternal Summer

It works as a snapshot and a sweeping epic. The main recurring thought I had was that all of this was happening all the time, and several slices of it other than the likes of Lindbergh or Baseball was hardly known to the average person at the time, I'd bet. It's all still happening all the time, and we suffer the severe misfortune of a postmodern press that seems to be writing as if we must know all of these horrors. And they stab us in the back while they do it by prewriting hagiography.

In the second half, it became increasingly evident that he was writing to fill the months and the book rather than just finishing off the stories he had come to tell. Perhaps that was more on theme, because new things are happening all the time, too.

I enjoyed it. Several fun nights listening …

Review of 'One Summer: America 1927' on 'Goodreads'

One Summer takes a look at headlines from 1927, and Bryson fleshes out the stories with background information in order to explain the story. Lots of little vignettes on Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh, but the only common thread is the year.

If you love Bill Bryson's voice and style, it doesn't matter what he writes -- you'll love it. I am not one of those people, so while I enjoyed his story of hiking the Appalachian Trail, I have not loved his other books. Stopped reading this one halfway through, and I don't regret it.

avatar for rklau

rated it

avatar for monnowman

rated it

avatar for Bomboloni

rated it