New World Coming : The 1920s and the Making of Modern America

A vibrant, fast-paced exploration of the pivotal and dynamic 1920s era, focusing on many of the colorful characters of the time and on three presidents: Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover.The images of the 1920s have been indelibly imprinted on the American imagination: jazz, bootleggers, flappers, talkies, the Model T Ford, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh's history-making flight over the Atlantic. But it was also the era of the hard-won vote for women, racial injustice, censorship, widespread social conflict, and the birth of organized crime. Chronicling what he views as the most consequential decade of the past century, Nathan Miller—an award-winning journalist and five-time Pulitzer nominee—paints a vivid portrait of the 1920s, focusing on the men and women who shaped that extraordinary time, including, ironically, three of America's most conservative presidents: Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. In the twenties, the American people soared higher and fell lower than they ever had before. As unprecedented economic prosperity and sweeping social change dazzled the public, the sensibilities and restrictions of the nineteenth century vanished, and many of the institutions, ideas, and preoccupations of our own age emerged. With scandal, sex, and crime the lifeblood of the tabloids, the contemporary culture of celebrity and sensationalism took root and journalism became popular entertainment. By discarding Victorian idealism and embracing twentieth-century skepticism, America became, for the first time, thoroughly modernized. There is hardly a dimension of our present world, from government to popular culture, that doesn't trace its roots to the 1920s, and few decades are more intriguing or significant today. The first comprehensive view of the era since Only Yesterday, Frederick Lewis Allen's 1931 classic, New World Coming reveals this remarkable age from the vantage point of nearly a century later. It's all here—the images and the icons, the celebrities and the legends—in a book that will resonate with history readers, 1920s aficionados, and Americans everywhere. "To an astonishing extent, the 1920s resemble our own era, at the turn of the twenty-first century; in many ways that decade was a precursor of modern excesses....Much of what we consider contemporary actually began in the Twenties." -- from the Introduction The images of the 1920s have been indelibly imprinted on the American imagination: jazz, bootleggers, flappers, talkies, the Model T Ford, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh's history-making flight over the Atlantic. But it was also the era of the hard-won vote for women, racial injustice, censorship, widespread social conflict, and the birth of organized crime. Bookended by the easy living of the Jazz Age, when the booze and money flowed seemingly without end, and the crash of '29 that led to breadlines and a level of human suffering not seen since World War I, New World Coming is a lively, entertaining, and all-encompassing chronological account of an age that defined America. Chronicling what he views as the most consequential decade of the past century, Nathan Miller -- an award-winning journalist and five-time Pulitzer nominee -- paints a vivid portrait of the 1920s, focusing on the men and women who shaped that extraordinary time, including, ironically, three of America's most conservative presidents: Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. In the Twenties, the American people soared higher and fell lower than they ever had before. As unprecedented economic prosperity and sweeping social change dazzled the public, the sensibilities and restrictions of the nineteenth century vanished, and many of the institutions, ideas, and preoccupations of our own age emerged. With scandal, sex, and crime the lifeblood of the tabloids, the contemporary culture of celebrity and sensationalism took root and journalism became popular entertainment. By discarding Victorian idealism and embracing twentieth-century skepticism, America became, for the first time, thoroughly modernized. There is hardly a dimension of our present world, from government to popular culture, that doesn't trace its roots to the 1920s, and few decades are more intriguing or significant today. The first comprehensive view of the era since Only Yesterday, Frederick Lewis Allen's 1931 classic, New World Coming reveals this remarkable age from the vantage point of nearly a century later. It's all here -- the images and the icons, the celebrities and the legends -- in a book that will resonate with history readers, 1920s aficionados, and Americans everywhere. "To an astonishing extent, the 1920s resemble our own era, at the turn of the twenty-first century; in many ways that decade was a precursor of modern excesses ... Much of what we consider contemporary actually began in the Twenties."--The Introduction The images of the 1920s have been indelibly imprinted on the American imagination: jazz, bootleggers, flappers, talkies, the Model T Ford, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh's history-making flight over the Atlantic. But it was also the era of the hard-won vote for women, racial injustice, censorship, widespread social conflict, and the birth of organized crime. Bookended by the easy living of the Jazz Age, when the booze and money flowed seemingly without end, and the crash of '29 that led to breadlines and a level of human suffering not seen since World War I, New World Coming is a lively, entertaining, and all-encompassing chronological account of an age that defined America. Chronicling what he views as the most consequential decade of the past century, Nathan Miller -- an award-winning journalist and five-time Pulitzer nominee -- paints a vivid portrait of the 1920s, focusing on the men and women who shaped that extraordinary time, including, ironically, three of America's most conservative presidents: Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. In the Twenties, the American people soared higher and fell lower than they ever had before. As unprecedented economic prosperity and sweeping social change dazzled the public, the sensibilities and restrictions of the nineteenth century vanished, and many of the institutions, ideas, and preoccupations of our own age emerged. With scandal, sex, and crime the lifeblood of the tabloids, the contemporary culture of celebrity and sensationalism took root and journalism became popular entertainment. By discarding Victorian idealism and embracing twentieth-century skepticism, America became, for the first time, thoroughly modernized. There is hardly a dimension of our present world, from government to popular culture, that doesn't trace its roots to the 1920s, and few decades are more intriguing or significant today. The first comprehensive view of the era since Only Yesterday, Frederick Lewis Allen's 1931 classic, New World Coming reveals this remarkable age from the vantage point of nearly a century later. It's all here -- the images and the icons, the celebrities and the legends -- in a book that will resonate with history readers, 1920s aficionados, and Americans everywhere To An Astonishing Extent, The 1920s Resemble The Turn Of The Twenty-first Century; In Many Ways That Decade Was A Precursor Of Modern Excesses. Bookended By The Easy Living Of The Jazz Age, When The Booze And Money Flowed Seemingly Without End, And The Crash Of '29 That Led To Breadlines And Suffering, The Images Of The 1920s Include Jazz, Bootleggers, Flappers, Talkies, The Model T Ford, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh. But It Was Also The Era Of The Hard-won Vote For Women, Racial Injustice, Censorship, Widespread Social Conflict, And The Birth Of Organized Crime. As Unprecedented Economic Prosperity And Sweeping Social Change Dazzled The Public, The Sensibilities And Restrictions Of The Nineteenth Century Vanished, And America Became, For The First Time, Thoroughly Modernized. There Is Hardly A Dimension Of Our Present World That Doesn't Trace Its Roots To The 1920s, And Few Decades Are More Intriguing Or Significant Today.--from Publisher Description. The Personal Instrument Of God -- To The Red Dawn -- We're All Real Proud Of Wurr'n -- Gee, How The Money Rolls In! -- My God, This Is A Hell Of A Job! -- I Thought I Could Swing It -- My Country 'tis Of Me -- Coolidge Or Chaos -- We Loved Every Rattle -- A Lost Generation -- Whooping It Up For Genesis -- Runnin' Wild -- Boy, Can You Get Stucco! -- Seven Against The Wall -- You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet! -- The Final Triumph Over Poverty -- Wall Street Lays An Egg. Nathan Miller. A Lisa Drew Book. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [391]-412) And Index.

The images of the 1920s have been indelibly imprinted on the American imagination-from jazz, bootleggers, flappers, talkies, the Model T Ford, Babe Ruth, and Charles Lindbergh to the fight for women's right to vote, racial injustice, and the birth of organized crime.Nathan Miller has penned the ultimate introduction to the era. Publishers Weekly calls it "an excellent chronicle of that turbulent, troubled, and tempestuous decade," and Jonathan Yardley's Washington Post review proclaimed this the new classic history of the 1920s, replacing Frederick Lewis Allen's celebrated account.Using the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald as a backdrop, Miller describes the world of Calvin Coolidge, H. L. Mencken, Woodrow Wilson, and the Red Scare in extraordinarily accessible (and frequently witty) writing, New World Coming is destined to become the book we all turn to to recall one of the most beloved eras in American history.

The images of the 1920s have been indelibly imprinted on the American imagination-from jazz, bootleggers, flappers, talkies, the Model T Ford, Babe Ruth, and Charles Lindbergh to the fight for women's right to vote, racial injustice, and the birth of organized crime. Nathan Miller has penned the ultimate introduction to the era. Publishers Weekly calls it "an excellent chronicle of that turbulent, troubled, and tempestuous decade," and Jonathan Yardley's Washington Post review proclaimed this the new classic history of the 1920s, replacing Frederick Lewis Allen's celebrated account.Using the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald as a backdrop, Miller describes the world of Calvin Coolidge, H. L. Mencken, Woodrow Wilson, and the Red Scare in extraordinarily accessible (and frequently witty) writing, New World Coming is destined to become the book we all turn to to recall one of the most beloved eras in American history. The life and career of author F. Scott Fitzgerald is used as a frame for this narrative social history of the United States in the 1920s. Written for a general audience, the text is ambitious in its scope, covering social, political, cultural, and economic change while simultaneously attempting to maintain a human scope. The author covers the activities of the Industrial Workers of the World (the Wobblies), the corruption of the Harding presidency, the Ku Klux Klan and other forms of American xenophobia, the sexual revolution symbolized by the "flappers," Billy Sunday as a symbol of religious revivalism, prohibition and the career of Al Capone, Charles Lindbergh and the rise of aviation, the stock market speculation that led to the crash of 1929, and many other aspects of American society during the decade of the "Roaring Twenties." A history of the 1920s documents such events as voting rights for women, the Jazz Age, the release of the Model T Ford, and Lindbergh's flight over the Atlantic, noting its most significant contributors, its social movements, and the terms of three conservative presidents. Reprint. 30,000 first printing. A history of the 1920s documents such events as voting rights for women, the Jazz Age, the release of the Model T Ford, and Lindberg's flight over the Atlantic, noting its most significant contributors, its social movements, and the terms of three conservative presidents. 40,000 first printing.