One Summer: America 1927

by Bill Bryson

In summer 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day (and slept much of the rest), a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and an unknown aviator named Charles Lindbergh who became the most famous man on earth.

It was the summer that saw the birth of talking pictures, the invention of television, the peak of Al Capone’s reign of terror, the horrifying bombing of a school in Michigan, the thrillingly improbable return to greatness of over-the-hill baseball player Babe Ruth, and an almost impossible amount more.

In this hugely entertaining book, Bill Bryson spins a tale of brawling adventure, reckless optimism and delirious energy. With the trademark brio, wit and authority that make him Britain’s favourite writer of narrative non-fiction, he brings to life a forgotten summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world.

• ISBN10: 0552772569
• ISBN13: 9780552772563
• Publish Date: 22 May 2014 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
• Imprint: Black Swan
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 672
• Language: English

Reviews

[Rinn]

Bryson's usual wonderful writing, but the subject matter just didn't work for me.

[Heather]

Who cares about the summer of 1927? If the author was anyone other than Bill Bryson, I would have been skeptical. He uses the summer of 1927 as a jumping off point for well-researched stream of consciousness discussions about topics as diverse as air travel, boxing, baseball, fear of immigrants, economic policy, crime, and Herbert Hoover. Herbert Hoover is always around. It is sort of creepy.

I love all of Bill Bryson's books and I especially like listening to them on audio.