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What happened in the summer of 1927? "Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs. The Federal Reserve made the mistake that precipitated the stock market crash. Al Capone enjoyed his last summer of eminence. The Jazz Singer was filmed. Television was created. Radio came of age. Sacco and Vanzetti were executed. President Coolidge chose not to run. Work began on Mount Rushmore. The Mississippi flooded as it never had before. A madman in Michigan blew up a school and killed 44 people in the worst slaughter of chi
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What is it like to be Bill Bryson's research assistant? Imagine the directives...
"Go find out what color Calvin Coolidge's dog was."
"Go find out how long the grass on airfields in 1927 was, and how they cut it, and what the blades were shaped like."
"Go find out why Charles Lindbergh's mother was so cold and undemonstrative."
"Go find out where the company that made the first airplane engine was located and what was in the wax they used to seal the wings and who invented that wax and what his bes ...more
"Go find out what color Calvin Coolidge's dog was."
"Go find out how long the grass on airfields in 1927 was, and how they cut it, and what the blades were shaped like."
"Go find out why Charles Lindbergh's mother was so cold and undemonstrative."
"Go find out where the company that made the first airplane engine was located and what was in the wax they used to seal the wings and who invented that wax and what his bes ...more
I really enjoy Bill Bryson and this is the 4th book of his that I read. Many parts of the book are wonderful and captivating. It especially starts off strong but the book is a bit uneven and really long. I'm glad I read it but a few parts are forgettable.
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I just didn't love this one- my first disappointing Bryson. Some interesting anecdotes and things I didn't know about Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh, but it was all too disconnected for me. For the first time I also didn't love Bryson's narration. It just kind of grated.
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One Book New Canaan, March 2015.
Jun 21, 2013
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