April-June 2023 Between the Wars (1919 - 19380

Politically:
June 28, 1919: The treaty of Versailles.

November 1920: The First Meeting of the League of Nations

October 30, 1922: Benito Mussolini is Made Italian Premier King Victor Emmanuel declares Mussolini premier in an attempt to head off violent conflict between the Fascists and the Communists.

November 9, 1923: The Beer Hall Putsch Adolf Hitler and General Ludendorf, a World War One hero, lead a small contingent of followers in a harmless, comical attempt at rebellion, for which Hitler is imprisoned for two years.

January 21, 1924: Vladimir Lenin Dies Lenin's death leaves some question as to who will be his successor.
Joseph Stalin eventually beats out Leon Trotsky to take control of the Soviet government.

May 11, 1924: The Cartel des Gauches wins the French Election The Cartel displaces the ruling Bloc National, in a marked victory for the left, but proves unable to govern effectively.

August 27, 1924: The German Chamber of Deputies Accepts the Dawes Plan The Dawes Plan restructures the schedule of German reparations payments so as to reduce the amount of annual payments, and grants Germany a large loan.

December 1, 1925: The Locarno Pacts are Signed The Locarno Pacts are signed in efforts to stabilize relations with Germany and its neighbors. The pacts usher in a period of peace and prosperity.
1926: Joseph Pilsudski Becomes Virtual Dictator in Poland Pilsudski maintains this position until his death in May 1935

March 1926: The Samuel Commission in England Releases Its Report on Coal Mining The Samuel Commission, under the Conservative government, releases a report which advises wage cuts for miners. The Triple Alliance responds by striking, which is emulated by many other industries in England to protest he Conservative government's policies.

April 14, 1931: The Spanish Monarchy is Overthrown and The Republic Is Born A provisional government is established to take Spain from monarchy to republicanism.

1932: General Gyula Gombos Comes to Power in Hungary

1933 - 1934: 1,140,000 Communist Party Members are Expelled by Stalin Stalin's Central Purge Commission, created in 1933, publicly investigates and tries many party members for treason as Stalin seeks to rid the party of opposition.

January 30, 1933: Hitler is Appointed Chancellor of Germany In an attempt to reel in the chaos of the German government, President Paul von Hindenburg declares Hitler chancellor, the first major step in Hitler's ascent to dictatorship.

March 23, 1933: The German Reichstag Passes the Enabling Act The Enabling Act gives Hitler the power to issue decrees with the status of law.

June 3, 1936: Leon Blum's Popular Front Government Comes to Power in France. The Popular Front, a leftist party, institutes social legislation and allows wide public participation in the government, but ultimately fails to curtail the depreciating economy.

July 17, 1936: The Spanish Nationalists Begin the Spanish Civil War Generals Goded, Mola, and Francisco Franco lead troops in rebellion against the republic, sparking the Spanish Civil War.

April 25, 1937: Spanish Nationalists Bomb Guernica The small northern town of Guernica is bombed, and civilians are gunned down as they flee the scene. In this brutal massacre 1500 die and 800 are wounded, but the military targets in the town remain intact.

September 18, 1938: The Munich Pact is Signed Britain and France appease Hitler by signing the Munich Pact, which grants Hitler control of the Czech Sudetenland.

March 30, 1939: The Spanish Civil War Ends Madrid falls to Francisco Franco's forces, effectively ending the Spanish Civil War. Franco's oppressive dictatorship begins.

September 3, 1939: Britain and France Declare War on Germany In response to Hitler's continued aggression in Eastern Europe, Britain and France go to war with Germany in an attempt to stop Hitler's bid for global hegemony.

_____

Roaring Twenties
Great Depression
1926: Hirohito becomes Emperor of Japan.
1927 - the first talkie movie "The Jazz Singer" released
1928 - discovery of penicillin
1937 - Japan invades China

Nota Bena: January 25, 1939
A uranium atom is split for the first time at Columbia University in the United States.

For possible reads see: https://www.librarything.com/tag/interwar

Don't forget to update the wiki with your reading: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Quarterly_Theme_Rea...

I'm planning on a complete read/reread of Bulgakov. I may reread The White Guard (ages since I read it) in the first quarter since as I recall there's some WWI in it. Everything else by him fits into the inter-war period.

Most of this will be a reread (again, ages since I read most of him, aside from multiple rereads of The Master and Margarita). but there's a couple of the plays I haven't read, some of his early prose, and also Black Snow: A Theatrical Novel (a satirization of Stanislavski and the Moscow Art Theater).

ETA: I was doing some housecleaning in my basement and found a number of his books down there a couple days ago in reasonably decent condition. I thought I had them around the house somewhere but I didn't know where!

>2 CurrerBell: LOL, This past weekend, I was looking for an Edgar Allan Poe anthology I know I have around here somewhere and even though I didn't find it, I found my copies of the Hornblower series (by C.S. Forester)! :-)

ETA: I don't know what I'm going to read for this prompt yet, but I'm tempted to do a re-read of Sea Biscuit (by Laura Hillenbrand) and The Boys in the Boat (by Daniel James Brown). We'll see...

Too early for me to began planning as my plans change daily! However, there is one, if I don't get it finished for the current WWI time period, I will put it in here, The Return of Captain John Emmet which deals with shell shock. It begins in 1918 and goes through 1920, so it has a place in both time periods.
I also have a book about Hemingway's wife, The Paris Wife, that would fit as well as numerous books that take place during the Great Depression, which don't appeal to me at the moment!

Messenger of Truth (a Maisie Dobbs book), by Jacqueline Winspear opens in England in 1930, but all of the story is a by-product of WWI. The struggles and death of artist Nick Bassington-Hope in trying to find peace and healing with the barbarity of WWI by exposing its horrors via his art drive the storyline to a strange and painful ending. The raging unemployment of veterans and unbearable poverty which allows a toddler to die because medical care is unavailable for her family until the disease is too far gone to save her provides an important subplot.

I have many choices for this, both classics and historical fiction, so I will just see how it goes and pick something I feel like reading or something that aligns with other challenges.

Just doing some scanning of shelves & planning....this period is probably my least favorite era of reading. To make it through and to be enjoyable I will probably focus on novels. Possibilities:

Winesburg, Ohio (1919) a previous DNF for me, will give it another try READ
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (don't own, get from library)READ
The Giver of the Stars (get from library)
Orphan Train Seems like I have read this, but I have nothing on it! (Lib)
The Legend of Bagger Vance (ebook)
The Truth According to Us (lib)
The InterWar Years (1919 - 1939): The Best One-Hour History a short 62 page historical recap (own ebook)READ
Speed Kings: The 1932 Winter Olympics and the Fastest Men in the World (own ebook)
Knaves, Fools, and Heroes Europe Between the Wars READ
Girl Runner The 1928 Olympics (ebook)
The Emperor's Tomb by Joseph Roth (WWI-1938) (ebook)
RESISTANCE IN THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO (1918-1956) (ebook)
What She Left Behind 1920's mental illness (ebook)
The Draycott Murder Mystery (1920's Golden Age of Mystery--ebook own)
21 Sermons by Billy Sunday Read

Also have 2 PhD dissertations written by once colleagues, opposing viewpoints on whether the New Deal was a success or failure. I may visit those again.

The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (ebook) was published in 1919 and a best-seller. The publication fits but not necessarily the topic. Will decide later on this one!

I will, of course, have to pare down this list!

My plan is to read To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield.

For anyone interested in a short but compelling novel about the Dustbowl, I'd recommend Now in November by Josephine Johnson.

I've created a stack of tentative reads for this quarter:

If I don't get to these two in this quarter, then they'll travel to Q2:
1917 - 1921 - 'The Given Day' (Coughlin Family #1; by Dennis Lehane)
1917 - 1924 'A Very Long Engagement (by Sebastian Japrisot)

1901 - 1939 'The Worst Hard Time' (by Timothy Egan)
1919 - 'Troubles' (by J.G. Farrell; narrated by Kevin Hely)
1919 - 'The Absolutist' (by John Boyne)
1920s - 'The Good Earth' (by Pearl S. Buck)
1920s - 'A Passage to India' (by E.M. Forster)
1926 - 'Live by Night' (Coughlin Family #2; by Dennis Lehane)
1929 - 'The Age of Light' (by Whitney Scharer)
1936 - 'Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics' (by Jeremy Schaap)

If I can manage it:
1936 - 'The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics' (by Daniel James Brown; narrated by Edward Herrmann) (Re-listen)
1939 - 'Seabiscuit: An American Legend' (by Lauren Hillenbrand) (Re-Read)

>9 Tanya-dogearedcopy: The Good Earth, one of my all time favs!

>8 kac522: Going on my WL for sure!

>11 Tess_W: It was a surprise to me when I read it--won the Pulitzer in 1935--written by a young woman whose family lived through the event.

Another good (and short) one about WWI veterans in the inter-war years is A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr (1980). There's also a great movie (1987) with very young Kenneth Branagh and equally young Colin Firth.

>12 kac522: Thanks for that, I have owned A Month in the Country for years but didn't realize it would fit.

>12 kac522: I watched that movie; I found the movie way to slow, but still enjoyed it, the acting of that young cast (including Natasha Richardson) was fantastic

>14 cindydavid4: It's a slow book, and the movie captured the essence of the book for me.

Here's a good list of classic novels of the Harlem Renaissance (1920s and 1930s) from the Utica Public Library website:

https://www.uticapubliclibrary.org/resources/literature-and-film-guides/20-class...

>16 rocketjk: Thank you for that list! I'm embarrassed to admit that I had only heard about one of the titles, Their Eyes Were Watching God...

>16 rocketjk: Passing by Nella Larsen is excellent; I also enjoyed Quicksand, an autobiographical novel. They are both short (under 200 pages each).

I found Cane by Jean Toomer difficult to understand. It is modernist, with a jumble of genres and vignettes: short stories, poems, one longish section. Toomer himself is an interesting character, though. I read the Norton Critical Edition, which had a lot of background info.

>17 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I'd only heard of two or three of them, myself. A sad state of affairs. Maybe when I finish with my Isaac Singer read-through . . .

All of William Faulkner’s best novels were published in these two decades. I’m very excited to be reading in this period.

I came across this by accident. I dont know if I will be able to squeeze it in my other project.

Ten days That Shook The World

Being sandwiched between the two calamitous events of WWI and WWII, the history of the 1919-1939 period is easy to overlook but there was plenty going on during that time.

There was the holdover from WWI - the fighting in Russia (1918-1920) which involved US troops who had originally been slated for shipment to the Western Front. Their primary focus was on extracting the Czech legion strung along the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
The Midnight War, The Czech and Slovak Legion in Siberia.

There was the first national witch hunt in the US. Red Scare.
There were the atrocities against blacks - Like Judgment Day.
There were various advances and adventures in aviation Queen Bess, The Spirit of St. Louis, An American Saga.
There were monumental construction efforts Spanning the Gate, Colossus.
The was, of course, the great depression The Bonus Army, The Worst Hard Time.
There was also weather The Great Hurricane: 1938, crime Public Enemies, style The Streamlined Decade ...and much more.

>22 alco261: Great list! I'm going to track down the Red Scare book. Also there was the Harlem Renaissance which produced many African-American poets and authors. There was the trans-continental flight of Charles Lindbergh as well as his son's kidnapping in 1932 (Lindbergh The Crime). And lastly, there was the Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee---Inherit the Wind is both a play and the name of the movie which told that story. Also, Picasso painted "Guernica" in response to the Spanish Nationalists bombing the civilian town (Picasso's War). Billy Sunday was a pro baseball player turned fire and brimstone preacher which attracted thousands. The League of Nations was established and the U.S. was the only Great War victor that did not join.(The League of Nations: The Controversial History of the Failed Organization That Preceded the United Nations). Wilson suffered a stroke and for all intents and purposes, Edith Wilson became the U.S. defacto president, Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson. J.Edgar Hoover began his ascent in 1920. J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets KDKA, the first public commercial radio station that went on the air. It is still doing business in a window in Pittsburgh (as of 2017--last time I walked by!).

Fiction: So many books, so little time
W. Cather
T. S. Eliot
Sinclair Lewis
S. Fitzgerald
E. Hemingway
Gertrude Stein
J. Steinbeck
T. Wolf

I hadn't realized just how many of the authors I studied in high school and college wrote during this period. Obviously, I haven't listed all of them.

I have chosen one large book, To Serve Them All My Days, R. F. Delderfield (1972), historical fiction set between the wars.

If I should finish this book, I've got a pile of possibilities:

Historical fiction set between the wars:
A Month in the Country, J. L. Carr (1980) -- a re-read
In the Beginning, Chaim Potok (1975) -- mostly between the wars, but does go into WWII
Rules of Civility, Amor Towles (2011)

and some non-fiction:
One Summer, America 1927, Bill Bryson (2013)
Soldiers with Picks and Shovels, Tom Emery (2011) --local history booklet about the CCC Camp in Carlinville, Illinois.
All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot (1972)
The Diary of an Isle Royale School Teacher, Dorothy Simonson (1992) --Simonson's diary for the school year 1932-33, while she was a teacher on the island of Isle Royale, Lake Superior. The diary was published by her son after her death.
Hard Times, Studs Terkel (1970); oral histories of the Depression from over 100 people interviewed and recorded by Studs.

I have many favorite writers from these decades and hope to discover some new to me. I’ve started High Rising, the first novel in Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire series (21 novels!) The first 6 are from the appropriate decades. William Faulkner’s four greatest novels, The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Light in August, and Absalom, Absalom, as well as other early novels fit in, and I hope to read some Faulkner. For nonfiction, I’m looking at Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcom. This is very long for me (1000+pages) and I’m not sure I want to take it on just now. We could spend so much time on this period, I’m just beginning to look at all the tempting possibilities.

>25 kac522: summer america 1927 is pr0bably mt favorite Bryson. Very interesting and of course never dry

>25 kac522:
I LOVED! To Serve Them All My Days when I read it a year ago. I also learned that the BBC made it into a series in the 1970's but I have not been able to find it anywhere. I want to read more Delderfield, but just haven't done it yet. Enjoy the book - it's a great read.

I've started The Great Swindle (Les Enfants du Désastre #1; by Pierre Lemaitre; translated from the French by Frank Wynne), a historical fiction set in the final days of WWI and onwards. When I was looking up the details of this book, I discovered that the English name for the trilogy is "Paris Between the Wars"-- so I'm starting off this quarter's prompt with a book that wasn't on my initial list!

Finished The Great Swindle (Les Enfants du Désastre/Paris Between-the-Wars trilogy #1; by Pierre Lemaitre; translated from the French by Frank Wynne). I've written a review here and in my head at least east a dozen times, but deleted them all as inadequate or clumsy. I'll try again tomorrow when I have had a bit more time to process it all. I will say that it has garnered 4.5 star-rating from me and I'm looking forward to the next two books in the series (also "Interwar").

I just started Troubles (Empire Trilogy #1;. by J.G. Farrell; narrated by Kevin Hely) - Set in 1919, a soldier returns to Ireland and heads out to a ruined hotel where his fiancé lives...

So, I'm still having trouble with writing a review for The Great Swindle-- so I thought I broke it down in the most rudimentary fashion, The Five Ws + H:

• WHO: Primary characters: Lieutenant Henri d'Aulnay Pradelle, Albert Maillard and Édouard Péricourt; Secondary characters: Édouard Péricourt's father & daughter, Albert's girlfriend and a little girl named Louise who we are teased with the idea that we will see her later in 1940 (in the last book of the trilogy?)
• WHAT: Double murder at the beginning of the book/not a spoiler); Sense of Unfairness & Injustice; Post-war hardships in France
• WHERE: Battle front in France (Battle of the Meuse) and Paris, France
• WHEN: 1918-1920
• WHY: Desperation, Greed, Grief/Sorrow, Fear, Resentment, Human Nature
• HOW: Two criminal swindles preying on the country's reverence for the war dead

Okay, a couple pros and cons:
• PROS: POV1-omniscient & POV3-omniscient that lends immediacy as the unnamed narrator bears witness to events and people's thoughts; vivid depictions of each scene, person and action without verbosity; original and intriguing plot without any loose ends;
• CONS: The ending is poetic but contains a continuity error that many won't notice but once you do, seems glaringly obvious (no, I'm not going to tell you what it is)

So make of this what you will. I recommend to those who like suspense, historical fiction and simply put, a great story; but should warn there are some graphic depictions of a war injury sustained by one of the primary characters and, a scene which might trigger some claustrophobia (both these things are at the rather intense start though the war injury is described/referred to again and repeatedly in various contexts).

>30 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Both sound like great books, but I'm going to try to stick to my original list for this quarter. However, I put them both on my WL!

My first read for this time period is Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. This was a re-read for me. I started it last year, didn't really care for it, and when the library loan was up, sent it back. I thought since it was written in the 1920's that this would be a good time to get back to it and it was available 3 days after I requested it at the library. Winesburg can be any small town in America, unassuming on the surface. The time is post WWI. Below that surface, however, lie many "evils", for lack of a better word. George, the quiet reporter for the newspaper, has a knack for listening and as such, the townspeople divulge many secrets. Winesburg is a collection of short stories that are interconnected through George. I didn't necessarily "like" the book this time, but neither did I dislike it enough to stop reading.

>33 Tess_W: When I read Winesburg, Ohio in high school (more than 50 years ago) it was one of the few assigned readings that I liked. I re-read it in 2021, and really disliked it. Here's what I wrote after that recent re-read: "Anderson portrays only unhappy, dissatisfied marriages; sad, lonely and disconnected individuals; and there's not a decent positive woman in sight, except for the Madonna-like Helen White." I have no idea why I liked this in high school, except perhaps for the portrayal of small-town life, which does feel authentic.

Trying to stick to nonfiction, I have a couple that are, at least partially, set in the 1920s and/or 1930s:

- Lady Sings the Blues / Billie Holiday
- The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets / Sarah Miller

>34 kac522: Yes, I think you have hit the nail on the head. Everybody is Winesburg, for the most part, are miserable. The book is just bleak to me.

>36 Tess_W: Yep, miserable and bleak sums it up.

I finished High Rising last month. I loved this book—it is social comedy, focussed on matrimony, witty and lighthearted, with the refreshing difference that the heroine is “happily widowed” and has no wish to change her state. It’s the first book of a 20-something series of novels set in fictitious Barsetshire, several of which were written in our time period. For me, HR was a lovely change from all the WWI material of last quarter, and I think contemporary readers of Thirkell would also have welcomed such novels. I don’t mean to suggest that this novel is a piece of fluff, however—there is a gentle irony throughout, especially with a central character, Laura Morland, successfully supporting herself by writing “good bad novels.”

that sounds very good; someone giften me with a collection of Thirkells work, must see if thats one of them

I started this quarter with The Diary of an Isle Royale School Teacher, by Dorothy Simonson, originally published 1988, this edition 1996.

This is a daily diary kept by a young schoolteacher during the 1932-33 school year spent at Chippewa Harbor, Isle Royale, Michigan, teaching a small group of children. Isle Royale, now a National Park, is an island in Lake Superior, off the coast of the U.S.-Canada border. Simonson, an Upper Peninsula native, was hired to teach the 5 children of island fisherman Holger Johnson from September 1932 through May 1933. Simonson and her 6 year old son Bob live in rooms attached to the cabin schoolhouse, and eat their meals up at the Johnson family's home. She is paid $65 a month, $35 of which she has to pay the Johnsons for her board.

The diary entries start out enthusiastic and she loves the setting on the beautiful island, but as the winter settles in, life becomes exceedingly difficult. There is no electricity, no phones, only one radio up at the house (in which the 10 people squabble over which radio program to listen to), and limited opportunities to meet other islanders. The weekly highlight is the arrival of the ship from the mainland with mail and supplies. But this shipping stops at the end of November and will not be expected again until the Lake thaws in mid-April. Care must be taken to wisely preserve kerosene, batteries and food until April.

Simonson does record some of her reactions to national events that she hears over the radio: her disgust with Hoover, the 1932 presidential election, Roosevelt's victory and later assassination attempt in Chicago, the bank runs, the move to end Prohibition. Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays provide enjoyable celebrations. She makes note of books she is reading (including Willa Cather's Shadows on the Rock and Theodore Dreiser's The Genius); multiple craft projects; and the daily toil of cleaning the schoolhouse, washing and ironing clothes, and the never-ending feeding of the wood stove heater. By January, she is counting down the days left they must remain in this isolated place; the endless sub-zero temps and six feet of snow outside her door don't make it any easier.

Simonson's diary was published by her son Bob after her death, and he has written a short introduction and Epilogue. A very illuminating look at a specific time and place during the interwar years.

>40 kac522: That looks like a very fascinating snapshot, indeed.

Presently reading Graham Greene’s Stamboul Train ( aka The Orient Express: An entertainment), first published in 1932. This is one of his earliest novels, and I’m enjoying it so far. I’ve not read any Greene recently, so I’m glad to be renewing our very limited acquaintance for this quarter’s reading.

I have read The Draycott Murder Mystery by Molly Thynne. It was first published in 1928 and apart from the whodunit it also shows some parts of the lives of the English aristocracy at the time. The author was an aristocrat herself.

You can find my review here.

>40 kac522: Sounds lovely! I'm seeking this out and it is quite expensive!

nvm just looked on bookfinder.com and they dont have it at all

>44 Tess_W:, >45 cindydavid4: Yes, my copy was published in 1996 by the Isle Royale Natural History Association, so probably something you'd find only in the UP. I happened to spot it at a library sale in Elgin, Illinois--how it got there, I'll never know, but so glad I found it. It's under 140 pages, but so interesting.

>40 kac522: Another interesting part of this diary is something that seems to be a small-town radio phenomenon. Simonson's family (mother, grandmother, siblings) lived near Calumet, Michigan in the UP's "Copper Country." The local radio station in Calumet, WHDF, had a weekly (?, I think) program where they would broadcast messages from local people to others without phones or means of communication (like people living in Isle Royale and other remote locations). Updates on birthdays, health, what was happening on the farm, etc., would be read on the air, hoping to reach those distant loved ones.

So every week Simonson would tune in to WHDF to hear the news from her family. However, she couldn't send messages back to WHDF for much of the winter because she couldn't get a working shortwave radio to communicate with the station. Then in February WHDF went off the air completely, so they had no news until the boat brought the mail in April. They still were able to get some other stations, including those broadcasting from as far away as Chicago, but she sorely missed those personal messages.

It reminded me of a segment that used to be on the radio show Prairie Home Companion. There was always a part in the program where messages from people in the audience were read aloud to folks back home. I assume this was kind of a flashback to those radio days that Simonson describes in her diary.

Earlier this week, I finished listening to Troubles (Empire Trilogy #1; by J. G. Farrell; narrated by Kevin Hely) - English Major Brendan Archer has been discharged from the Great War and recovery from shell shock and so heads up to Ireland to claim his fiancée. Things are immediately and apparently "not right" when he shows up: Angela, his betrothed seems oddly distant & absent and; where they live, The Majestic Hotel once popular in the nineteenth century has fallen into ruin. The Irish War of Independence breaks out and wages on with ramifications to the stability of the hotel and its occupants. At once both sad and funny, the whole of the novel has such a surreal tone that it would be easy to conjecture that Archer has found his way to a lunatic asylum! The whole of the Empire Trilogy is a satirical look at the British Empire, moments in history often branded as time of glory; but might actually be something less than. Farrell's takes are sharp and subtle, like a fine blade finding its mark; but entertaining and vivid. The only caveat here is a trigger warning for cavalier animal cruelty.

>48 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Putting that one on my WL.

I read 21 Sermons by Evangelist Billy Sunday compiled by Bennie Blount. There are no touchstones. This book is in the public domain here: https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/books/billysundaysermons.pdf

Billy Sunday was a 1920's baseball player turned prohibitionist and evangelist. He was a fiery hell and damnation preacher. During the 20's he had quite a following and seemed to be quite successful. I enjoyed reading his colorful sermons, even if I didn't necessarily agree with the message or the methods!

187 pages 4 stars

On Easter break this week, so reading a lot of the odds and ends before the "serious" stuff begins!

The InterWar Years (1919 - 1939): The Best One-Hour History by Robert Freeman. Freeman is a pretty respectable name in the history field. I was surprised to see his name on this! This was a very short overview of the interwar years. Nothing was contained within that I had not already learned or do not teach when teaching modern history. I did disagree with two points contained within the book: 1) There was no great depression in Russia....their economy was up 400% 2) The population in the Sudetenland was 50% German. These are both contrary to what I had/have been taught at the college level. I would argue that Russia did not suffer from the Great Depression because they did not buy and sell on the open market. I would also argue that there was a large minority of Germans in the Sudetenland, but that it was more in the 30% range. Perhaps those numbers have been revised since the 1990's? However, I really have no desire to do more research on those two smallish points, especially when the entire book took less than one hour to read! 62 pages 3 stars

As I was working on my Master's degree in history, the university handed out self-made packets of original documents for us to read and analyze. I still have those and when I saw this time period thought I would get out the first of two that I will re-read. The first being Self-Help is the Best Response to Unemployment (1932) by Henry Ford. This was published in the Literary Digest in 1932. At the time he wrote this, 13 million Americans were unemployed. Ford begins by stating that he worked for 40 years as an employee. He claims that the jobs of the world of the day are more numerous and profitable in wages than they were even 18 years ago. (Why that number? WWI?) Ford goes on to say that charity, as it is doled out by cities are barbarous things of torture that make people addicted. What Ford did in his "villages" (places where his employees lived) was to open a garment making school and "setting the cobblers and tailors of the community to work making clothing for their unemployed neighbors." Ford also sent "agents" to those burdened with debt and helped them apportion their income to straighten out their affairs. Ford believed there is another means just as important--self-help. He believed every family should have a plot of land and raise a sufficient supply of food for themselves or others. He claims nobody, not even the part-time farmers, will be hurt.

The second essay on this topic was a critique of Ford's position, titled "Self-Help is Not Enough", published in 1932 in_______? (I can't find the name of the digest) and written by Charles Walker, a former steelworker, who wrote both fiction and non-fiction works examining the effects of industrial technology on the American worker. This essay examines the fate of one Ford employee, Boris, who was was laid off. He sold his car, his furniture, his home was repossessed, and his wife moved to upstate New York to live with her mother. He went to a lodge (large unused factory) operated by the city for homeless men where he shared a room with 150 other men on cots. They received hot water and used tea bags for breakfast and a lunch, most often gruel, that cost the city no more than 22 1/2 cents per man per day. It seems that 227,000 men in Michigan were in the same situation. He claims to have gone daily to look for work, but there was none. Walker argues that this man was industrious and that self-help was not enough.

It was good to revisit these articles again after 30+ years. I will be revisiting two others when I am ready to read about The New Deal.

good grief, doesnt seem much of a change today, when we have people agreeing with Ford, and living like Walker. Not a surprise of course.

I’ve finished A Lost Lady by Willa Cather, loved it! I’m so happy to find that a number of Cather’s novels which I haven’t read were published in this time period.

>53 dianelouise100: That is a great little novel, isn't it? So many ideas packed into it.

>54 kac522: I was very impressed with it. Such a short novel to be so rich in significance.

I'm placing this book here, although the story begins in 1917, its ramifications and longevity in the political arena lasted until WWII.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and Germany's Eastern Policy by Sir John W. Wheeler-Bennett A small (52 pages) but mighty book! Mr. Wheeler-Bennett was quite a distinguished and well-respected journalist, historian, and statesman of which I was unaware before I read a previous book he had written; I now have 3 additional on my shelf to read. This was by far his shortest book and the topic, the price Russia had to pay to get out of WWI to the Germans, was a topic that I only knew one word about: pricey! Bennett makes no bones about the predatory nature of the Germans in this treaty and also posits that this did as much to ally Russia and the US during WWII more than anything else and also saved the Bolshevik revolution. Among other things discussed was the German desire for the detachment of the Ukraine from Russia to become a German satellite state, the restoration of a Polish kingdom under the auspices of German/Austrian nobility, the installation of a German King in a semi-independent Finland, and the annexation of all the Baltic States. The basic purpose, as seen by the Germans, was the elimination of the Russian state, altogether. At this particular time, nobody was really sure what Bolshevism was. I have taken 5 pages of typed notes from this book and will probably go down a rabbit hole for quite some time as many things here piqued my interest. 52 pages 5 stars

I've just started listening to The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931 (by Adam Tooze; narrated by Ralph Lister) - Not as easy reading/listening as G. J. Meyers or Adam Hochschild; but definitely worth taking the time to sort out :-)

>57 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Well, look at that! I currently have The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931 out from the library, though I haven't started reading it yet. I thought this looked like an interesting book. Great minds think alike!

I completed Knaves, Fools, and Heroes: Europe Between the Wars by Sir John Wheeler-Bennett. This is the last book Bennett wrote before his death. It is a memoir of his time spent in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia between the wars. Bennett was a man with an inheritance and spent most of his life observing and cavorting with the great and near great: Wilhelm II, von Papen, General Groner, Jan Masaryk and his son, Leon Trotsky, and Benes, just to name a few. He drew the line at Nazi's, whom he despised; although he had met Hitler, Goebbels and Rohm on at least one occasion. He was in Berlin during the Reichstag Fire and just fled Austria as the Nazi tanks were roaring in. According to von Papen, Bennett was to have been liquidated on the Night of Long Knives in Berlin. He started out working for the foreign press, then moved on to delicate political negotiations in Locarno, The League of Nations, and among other things, aided the prosecutor at the Nuremburg Trials. His memories of these historical personages are invaluable as well as poignant. It is my personal opinion that he went out of his way to be fair to all-telling the good and the bad. I will be collecting books as I find them at a good price from this author. 200 pages 5 stars

>59 Tess_W: Sounds fascinating--added to the WL.

I have finished Un long dimanche de fiançailles where Mathilde tries to find out what happened to her fiancé in 1917. This fell flat for me, it doesn't really give me a sense of post-war France at all.

Published in 1938 Their Morals and Ours by Leon Trotsky To be honest, I did not understand much of this book, although I did read several chapters twice. I think this was in defense of killing as long as it furthered the revolution and it was done by the proletariat. Trotsky defended the killing of the Czar & his family but condemned the killing of his sons by Stalin. 126 pages 3 stars

I completed March Violets by Philip Kerr The best description I can come up with is a Pre-WWII noir set in Berlin. This is book 1/3 of the Bernie Gunther series. Gunther is a private detective on a case which involves a midnight meeting with Herman Goring and trying to outwit the Gestapo. I would have probably enjoyed this book more if I had understood some of the "inside" German jokes....and they just aren't as funny as when you have to look them up...such as "more difficult than Goebbels finding a pair of shoes" and something about Goring and milk cows--referring to his second wife's big breasts. This book ran the gamut from Tempelhof Airport to Dachau to the 1936 Olympics and Jesse Owens. I'm not really into thrillers or hard boiled mysteries, so this was just an OK read for me. 245 pages 3 stars

Remembered a book I have that I think will fit here: a time for gifts about the 18 year old author's travel from Holland to Hungary,in 1933 with the sequel that takes him to to Romaniabetween woods and water and on to Constatinople in 1936. Probably my favorite travel narrative I ever read

"It is a book of compelling glimpses - not only of the events which were curdling Europe at that time, but also of its resplendent domes and monasteries, its great rivers, the sun on the Bavarian snow, the storks and frogs, the hospitable burgomasters who welcomed him, and that world's grandeurs and courtesies. His powers of recollection have astonishing sweep and verve, and the scope is majestic."

the third book of the series to Constatinople the broken road was completed and publised posthumously with much of pre WWII follow up

Lindbergh, A. Scott Berg, Lloyd James, Narrator ... Audible.


I chose this book because I naively thought the meat of the book would be in the inter-war years. Ha! More fool me!

I won't re-post all my thoughts on this book here (Leslie's Plunge in the 75 Books Challenge is where I gushed), but this was an absolute 5-star book with a very pleasant narrator. Loved this book all the way through, and so far it's the best book I've read this year, hands down. Interesting information, a fascinating subject - complex in character yet reserved in personality (like Spock, for all you SciFi enthusiasts) - and yet the story of a human being living in "interesting times." I know, we all feel like we live in "interesting times" these days, but really, his were far more interesting!!

The author is a master, and takes the reader through the highs and lows of Lindbergh's life, both of which were much influenced by the inter-war years, so perhaps I'm good with this challenge. Regardless, put this book on your list if you haven't already read it: it is a stellar biography and you will learn so much.

>65 PocheFamily: glad you enjoyed it. Does the biographer talk much about Lindberghs antisemitism?

>66 cindydavid4: Absolutely!! - Scott Berg addresses Lindbergh's remarks, the interpretations, and the perspective of time on what Lindbergh said and when. In other words, as a biographer Scott Berg is adept at presenting the facts and contexts of Lindbergh's words (spoken and written) but does not lead the reader to a particular conclusion.

Lindbergh's pacifist origins, his work as a spy for the U.S. during his visits to Nazi Germany, and his unequivocal statements are part of the story that is told as well, with well documented statements from contemporary accounts. Even if the diaries used can be considered those of an unreliable narrator, the reliance is generally on multiple sources on any one issue. Afterall, as Lindbergh's own story reveals, the newspapers and other media often print incorrect reports or even on occasion contort facts to present something that will sell more papers. What was fascinating to learn was the way FDR and more particularly Secretary Ickes went after Lindbergh, who was a political novice. (As an aside: FDR as anti-semitic? but Ickes was not and there's an excellent jewishpost.com article out there in the interwebs about "Haven": the Untold Story of Harold Ickes).

Lindbergh spent much of the last decade or so of his life fighting for the protection of primitive indigenous peoples across the globe, yet throughout his life he explored or propounded (quite irrationally given his own family gene pool, as pointed out by Berg) in some level of eugenics, a generally quite popular theory until the Nazi regime showed where that leads. Lindbergh's personal experience of the war in the Pacific as a pilot and later in recovering Europe were a big part of his own reassessment of some of his earlier beliefs. Like normal human beings, Lindbergh didn't emerge fully developed in his beliefs at age 24 when he landed near Paris and into mythical status but altered course multiple times on many issues. He started life thinking technology and science were everything but that changed too. I think that's why in the end, if I have a begrudging admiration for another dead, white male who made politically incorrect statements, it's because the author of this biography, A. Scott Berg, showed him in full technicolor and as a 3D personality in 4D time.

Besides, having one of my own earliest memories be of the moon landing, and therefore not really understanding the emotional component of Lindbergh's flight beyond the historical context, this book unexpectedly helped me understand a tremendous amount of twentieth century history. Lindbergh is everywhere in it. And I never saw that before this book. I don't think this is Berg's over-reach, I think in looking through the prism of history this book illuminates something about the 20th century that a bio on the life of Elon Musk (to date) never will (I give him another 40 years to get his *&%$ in gear).

And no, I am in no way related to A. Scott Berg. Though I wish I could hang with him sometime.

I didn't previously note: the one thing this book doesn't address is Lindbergh's extramarital affairs and children - although his wife's were, so I can only assume Berg omitted the information because there wasn't source material or it couldn't be verified, or there were concerns about privacy rights which have since been waived by those children. The reality is, once Lindbergh stopped keeping diaries there was only the material of the secondary characters with which to work.

I'll stop now. Hard to when I would so much love to grab a tea/coffee and discuss!

>67 PocheFamily: thank you for that! Lots to unpack here and Ill get there later but had to comment FDR as anti-semitic My parents were Franklin Democrats and I had great admiration for him.
Then I learned that he refuse to allow ships with German refugees to land in the US; these people ended up going to the death camps when they returned

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/us-government-turned-away-thousands-jewis...

but then given what he did to Japanese Americans during WWII nothing would surprise me.

Anyway I will come back and comment further

>65 PocheFamily: Argh! I wish I had known you were listening to this before! I would have loved to have read/listened and been able to chime in and talk about it with cindydavid4 and Tess_W (though I think she was going to track down another Lindbergh book).
I'm committed to The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson; #1; by Robert A. Caro; narrated by Grover Gardner) and the rest of the series for the next few weeks/months and; I've got a stack of LeMaitre, Hemingway and other assorted authors for the Summer-- but I'll stack it jic a window opens up!

(I just looked it up and the audio is 31 hrs and 9 mins long and; the ebook is only $5.99! If you get the Kindle versions, it's half price on Audible if you are a member)

I'm about to start Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (by David Grann) - A NF book set in 1921, this is about the Osage Nation in Oklahoma and how white settlers targeted and killed a number of Native Americans to get at the oil fields the Osage had purview over.

I just last night finished Crooked: The Roaring '20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal by Nathan Masters. It focuses on Montana Democrat Burton Wheeler and his Senate investigation of Harding's (and for a short while Coolidge's) Attorney General Harry Daugherty for corruption in the Justice Department (in withholding criminal prosecutions, releasing booze from bonded warehouses during Prohibition, and politically motivated investigations and prosecutions, among other issues). This is not to be confused with Teapot Dome, which involved Interior Secretary Albert Falls. Wheeler, a progressive Democrat, had support of progressive Republicans in his investigation of Daugherty as well as when Wheeler himself was framed by Daugherty supporters who charged him with bribery.

The clean-up of the Justice Department's Bureau of Investigation (which would become the Federal Bureau of Investigation a few years later) by Coolidge's new Attorney General, Harlan Fiske Stone, resulted in the promotion of a 29-year-old lawyer from assistant director to director – John Edgar Hoover.

Had Harding lived (he died in San Francisco of either heart failure from CHF or possibly a stroke from a-fib while on a national tour preparatory to his reelection campaign), the scandals would very possibly have been busted open sooner, because Harding was starting to become suspicious of the "Ohio Gang" and its corrupt influence in his Administration. At the conclusion of his novel Hollywood, Gore Vidal quotes his grandfather, Oklahoma Senator Thomas Gore, as describing Harding as "too nice a man to be president."

After his death, it was easy for Coolidge and the Republican Party to let Harding (a very popular president in his lifetime) be blamed for the scandals, especially when his image was also tarnished by post mortem revelations of sex scandal (he actually made Bill Clinton look good); but I personally think Harding's our most underrated President. He commuted (not a full pardon, as Masters erroneously asserts) the ten-year sedition sentence that Eugene Debs was serving for his opposition to Woodrow Wilson's war (and Harding also commuted the sentences, I believe, of some other WWI-era draft resisters); and he convened the Washington Naval Conference, successfully securing Senate ratification of the first multi-national arms control treaty in history (with the support of Republican senators who opposed participation in the League of Nations but were "deficit hawks" who wanted to limit the expense of an arms race in battleships).

Wheeler served in the Senate for four terms, earning the enmity of FDR for opposing the "court packing" plan and finally losing a reelection primary in 1946, largely because he had opposed U.S. entry into the Second World War up until Pearl Harbor. In an epilogue to Crooked, Masters, an NPR radio host, follows the traditional "interventionist" programme of the U.S. foreign policy establishment in condemning Wheeler, even going so far as to associate him with the anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi portrayal given him by Philip Roth in his alternate history novel The Plot Against America.

Crooked has very useful endnotes documenting most everything asserted in the text, with particular reference to the text's extensive quotations. This documentation style does give the book a little bit of a "term paper" feel, but the endnote documentation along with the extensive bibliography is useful for further research.

I have a couple biographies of Harding I've been meaning to get to, including last year's The Jazz Age President by Ryan Walters and the bit older Warren G. Harding by John Dean (of Watergate fame), the latter book being in Arthur Schlesinger's "The American Presidents" series. (I've also got The Shadow of Blooming Grove by Francis Russell, but this 1968 book is absolutely terrible and I put it down after just a chapter or two.) I also want to get around to Coolidge by Amity Shlaes.

>70 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Yes, the one limitation of LT is it's not a live bookclub discussion! But Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is a super interesting read, too, so you won't be disappointed in your choice. Will watch for your review.

Some of my favorite lighthearted - or rather, lightheaded - novels, the Wooster & Jeeves series, are set in this period and were written between the wars as well. I'm enjoying those but if I read too many too quickly I start speaking like Aunt Dahlia and my husband looks at me as though I'm Stinky Pinker ... so I pace myself, rather as Bertie does through the refreshing concoctions. Am definitely on the lookout for another non-fiction set in this period, so will be lurking to see what good things others are reading!

>72 PocheFamily: lol I've books like that which I have to force myself to slow down because my instinct is to race through them for the pure joy of becoming lost in such wonderful characters and plot lines.

There are some wonderful books listed in this category, but none are available through Kindle Unlimited or GADD--I need larger print and 'lighting', but read too much too quickly since I retired to buy them.

Some years ago at a library sale I picked up Soldiers with Picks and Shovels: The CCC Camp at Carlinville, Illinois by Tom Emery (2011). It interested me because my father-in-law was in a CCC camp during this time and was from Central Illinois. I read it about 10 years ago, but decided that I wanted to re-visit it now to get a feel for the era.

This self-published pamphlet of about 80 pages is a history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp at Carlinville, IL, which was in operation from July 1935 until June 1941. The author is from this rural central Illinois area, and was sponsored by a local historian. He visited local archives and libraries, read through the local paper of the time and conducted a handful of interviews with locals who either were in the camp or living in Carlinville during those years. Included are quite a few photographs from archives as well as private families in the area.

Author Emery begins with an overview of the Depression era and President Roosevelt's New Deal initiatives. Roosevelt proposed the plan in early March 1933, and it was approved by Congress on March 31. The program started slowly, but eventually expanded to every state. Construction of Carlinville's camp was begun in July 1935 and was ready for recruits by October 1935. In order to qualify for the camp, men needed to be single, at least 18 years old, unemployed, and the man's family had to be on relief. Men were paid $30 a month, $25 of which was sent directly to the man's family.

Much of the work done at Camp Carlinville involved helping local farmers (who had endured drought in recent years) with soil erosion prevention and planting trees; in fact, the Carlinville men worked on dozens of farms in the area and planted thousands of trees. They built dams and quarried rock that was later used by WPA projects to build roads and bridges. At any one time there was an average of 200 men being housed at the camp; men signed up for 6 months at a time, with a maximum enrollment of 2 years. It's estimated that the average length of service was 9 months, so there was always a rolling influx of new recruits.

The barracks and living arrangements were similar to military camps, and it's easy to see how many of the men would have easily transitioned into service for WWII. Camp Carlinville had multiple buildings; besides the barracks (see photo above) and mess hall with kitchen, there were multiple buildings, including a recreation room, library, education building, woodworking shop and a barbershop. Of Camp Carlinville's original 200 or so enrollees, most were from rural areas and about half had not attended school past 8th grade. Education and job training was important and many men attained job skills that they were later able to use to get jobs or would later use during the war.

But utterly amazing (compared to today) was how swiftly the whole CCC organization was put into motion in the Roosevelt administration. In literally a few months hundreds of thousands of men were being housed and employed in thousands of worthwhile projects throughout the United States. Congress moved with lightning speed in those days. It's estimated that at its height, the CCC program employed over half a million men. By 1941 as unemployment eased and the war was on the horizon, the CCC program was winding down, and finally ended in June, 1942.

Sorry that this is so long! But for a little pamphlet of 80 pages, the author packed in a ton of information and really gave an important look at one Illinois CCC camp, bringing to life an experience for hundreds of thousands of American men in this era.

always wondered about that, was it different from the WPA? Downtown I still see sidewalks with those initials

>75 cindydavid4: It's my understanding that the CCC focused on short-term projects, such as soil conservation, planting trees, building flood barriers and fighting forest fires. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) focused on medium-sized construction projects, like restoring roads, schools, and parks. The WPA also hired women and teenagers for a wider variety of projects, including Federal Art Project and Federal Writers' Project. Both programs hired unemployed people directly, and being unemployed was a requirement to be in the program.

By contrast the Public Works Administration (PWA) did large-scale, long-term construction projects (like dams) and hired private companies to do them. The hope was that these companies would then need to hire many additional workers to complete these long-term projects.

If anyone knows more, please feel free to add/correct!

>74 kac522: I'm listening to Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon B. Johnson #1; by Robert A. Caro; narrated by Grover Gardner) and last night I finished listening to the sections about LBJ's administration of the National Youth Organization in Texas. It was an enterprise that Eleanor Roosevelt conceived of and she then persuaded her husband to make it happen. It was basically like "Junior CCC" with the idea of getting young adults to work at a time when many in that age group were dropping out of school after eighth grade and ending up as hobos (Most who dropped out of school never returned.) The projects that the state administrators implemented had to be conceived by the state and there were a lot of rules like the recipient qualifications (individuals needed to be between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five and come from a family on relief) and that the projects themselves could not be taking work away from other government agencies. In Texas, the project was building roadside parks. In the 1930s, many Texan roads had narrow or no shoulders and extended for very long stretches. There were considerable fatalities as cars that were pulled over to the side were run into by other cars/trucks. Anyway, the program was a huge success in Texas :-)

So, not CCC, but very closely related and in the "New Deal" package.

>76 kac522: thanks for that! I may not like Roosevelt for his racism but his policies to help people get back on their feet from the depression was very sucessful

Nobody in the family is able to tell me what organization my grandfather worked for during the depression, but he loaded logs on flat-bed semis in a very rural area. Some say he worked for the WPA, some say the CCC. I would doubt the CCC because he was picked up and returned to home on a daily basis. He was paid $2 per day and a 20# sack of potatoes each week. He usually worked 5 days per week. He was given a 30 minute lunch break and during that time he walked the forest and foraged for apples, nuts, and berries to take home. He was mistakenly drafted (he had 5 children) in WWII and was in the Navy for 8 months before they realized their mistake and gave him an honorable discharge. It was quite easy for him to find a job once he returned home because there were not many men available for employment. He was very fortunate to become a tool/dye guy at the Eaton Corporation from which he retired in the 1970's.

As an aside, he took lunch with him daily--lard sandwiches. Amazingly, he lived to be 83 and besides eating lard sandwiches and 5 eggs for breakfast each day, he smoked a pack of cigarettes per day. He was not ill until the last 6 months of his life.

>79 Tess_W: If he was married, he probably wouldn't have been in the CCC; men had to be single to qualify. However, there is a list of CCC camps here:

https://ccclegacy.org/

under the "CCC History Center" tab. If you know his location at the time, you could see if a camp was located near his home.

Here's a very cool website with a list and descriptions/photos of major New Deal projects by state/city:

https://livingnewdeal.org/us/

He may have been hired by a private firm under the Public Works Administration (PWA) if it was a large, long-term project. Local newspapers of the era might have recorded what large-scale construction was going on at the time.

>79 Tess_W: If you know the community - you can read historic newspapers on microfilm. A state historical library- possibly will have all the newspapers for the state. You can check them out at that location and read them there- but you can often requests them through your library, ILL. I have read numerous clippings in my research that mention who is in the CCC and the projects on which they work, etc. If he didn't live in a huge city, the papers can be skimmed through really fast. It won't be in the sports section; it won't be in the obituaries, comics, classifieds, etc. There is usually one to five special features that appear weekly in the same spot.

If that sounds too daunting - you can pay for a short-term subscription to some news outlet that has uploaded images and look for his name in a search engine.

Hope you find out.

>80 kac522: TY for the info. I'm going to begin a search. However, at the link you provided, there were no WPA projects even listed in Union County, Ohio, except for a library/post office in a town that would have been too far away. My great aunt specifically remembers that Harold told her he was transported to some "woods", about 15-20 miles from his home, by a vehicle, she claims it was army because it was green and had a canvas rag top. Harold said the woods was abuzz with chainsaws cutting down trees. He, amongst others were responsible for loading the cut down logs on a flatbed semi. He didn't know what the lumber was going to be used for. As to being single.....he definitely was NOT....however, for some "odd" reason he was conscripted during WWII because the govt. had on their paperwork that he was single. It took them 8 months to straighten out that snafu. Grandpa had already been through basic training and aboard a ship before he was discharged. The family claims they told every official at the draft board that he was married with 5 children and they have no idea how he became to be listed as single. The guy at the draft board told him if he didn't report as required that he would be arrested--so he did! I'm wondering, just off the top of my head, if perhaps he listed on the application for work (if it was the CCC), that he was single so he could get a job?

>81 EGBERTINA: Oh, I'm familiar with microfilm! I think this research might be my "summer" project.

Ive got a two fer; reading love in a cold climate for this thread and the Classics Cat theme for June Humor. first Mitford for me, hope it will be fun

The Killers of the Flower Moon (by David Grann) - In this non-fiction, tru-crime book, the author looks into the the Reign of Terror which hit the Osage Nation in Oklahoma during the 1920s. The Osage were extraordinarily wealthy in owning the headrights to oil on their land and became the target of systemic targeting by Whites for those riches. As the rights to the oil could only be passed down through the family, those who sought to defraud the Osage worked the system through intermarriage, becoming wardens of individual Osage, filing false insurance claims... and murder. The book initially focuses on the murder of Osage citizen Anna Brown and the investigation by the fledgling FBI headed by the protocol-oriented J. Edgar Hoover. The final sections of the book expand the remit a bit beyond as Grann digs through his papers to posit the criminal parties involved in other related murders during the same period. Overall, a well-researched book that includes black-and-white photos, but lacking a certain energy and tension. Reading like a well-prepared classroom project, there is no sense of immersion in the time or place despite the author actually having travelled to the locations and spoken to relatives of the victims; nor were there any surprises in terms of who was ultimately involved as the villain of the piece was flagged early on. A movie adaptation (directed by Martin Scorsese; produced and starring Leonardo diCaprio and also starring Robert De Niro) is slated for showing at Cannes 2023. This might actually be an instance where the movie is better than the book as the book is basically reportage without internal dialogue.

I know people love this book and that it was a bestseller in 2017; but for whatever reason, it didn't really do it for me. It was just too flat. In terms of a truly great true crime, NF book (also, incidentally set in the mid-west)-- this one involving the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, I recommend In Cold Blood (by Truman Capote), though it's set a little bit later in 1959 when a family of four, the Clutters were murdered. Capote covers the KBI case and interviews the culprits (In fact, Capote would be charged with overly biased writing in favor of one of the murderers). Nonetheless, the sense of immediacy, of color, and anticipation as the KBI closes in is palpable.

I listened to an audiobook of Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (published 1930 in serial form). I had not read Simenon at all before, so I began with the first of the Maigret series. I thought this was quite a good detective story. Maigret’s character was carefully developed, his tenacity becoming quickly apparent. His great patience and sudden insights were impressive. The plot is ingenious and absorbing from the beginning; it’s about confused identities and I never saw the answers coming. Maigret’s physical appearance is carefully detailed and I could believe not just in his mental determination, but in his physical strength as well—both neccessary in this book for a credible plot. I want to read this again in book format, because I know I missed details on the audio.

>82 Tess_W: Interesting story, and worth doing a little bit of research. I talked with my husband, and he told me a similar story. His father John was single, about 20, but couldn't find a job in the rural Central Illinois area that he lived with his parents & 5 younger siblings. The family wasn't on relief--although not well off, but proud--so the family decided to bite the bullet and take relief, just so John would qualify for the CCC. Per the family story, John's father just wanted to keep John from being idle and playing basketball all day long. :)

Not quite a book or even an audiobook, but something that might interest this group nonetheless, is "Stephen Fry's Secrets of the Roaring Twenties". It's a podcast of eleven episodes available on Audible (free to members). This takes a look at some interesting trends in the 1920s-- but from an English POV. There are authors & historians who also appear and weigh in on the age of The Bright Young Things :-)

Speaking of England in the 1920s, I just finished a re-read of A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr, which is set in 1920. It's the story of a young Great War veteran who goes to a North Yorkshire country village to restore a painting in a church, and in the process begins to restore himself. A small gem, coming in at 135 pages.

>88 kac522: I just read that recentlly for another thread, loved it. The movie was a nice adaptation

>89 cindydavid4: Yep, can't go wrong with the dynamic duo of Colin Firth & Kenneth Branagh.

I have finished Vera where at some point it is mentioned that it is set in 1920. Which isn't quite obvious, as the War is never mentioned.

I think I read most of Josephine Tey’s mysteries I could find in my teens. For this time period, I reread A Shilling for Candles, first published 1936. I thoroughly enjoyed the read, but think it probably not one of her best. Last night I started Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love. This book is wonderful, laugh-out-loud funny, and her writing is so well controlled. Looking forward to finishing it and probably more of her work. This book is my first Mitford.

>90 kac522: and they look so young!

>92 dianelouise100: mmm maybe pursuit of love would be better, Ill check them both out and see what I like first

>93 cindydavid4: How are you finding Love in a Cold Climate? Both novels are in the book I got from library. If you’ve not gotten into it yet, The Pursuit of Love is the first in the series, though I don’t know how important starting with first is in this case.

I just put TPOL on my kindle so Ill sstart with that one. looked more interesting to me, and yes for reading the first in order, Thx

I read Ostende: 1936, Sommer der Freundschaft by Volker Weidermann. It was published in English as Summer Before The Dark. It is a biographical novel. In the centre of the story there are Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth, connected by a strong friendship, but there are also Irmgard Keun, Ernst Toller, Egon Erwin Kisch and a handful of other writers, as well as their wives and associates. All of them are exiled and trying to find a way in this new world, needing to come to terms with the hatred of their home countries of Germany and Austria, but some of them also still hoping against reason that everything will be alright.

It is a short work, but I loved it and gave it five stars.

>96 MissBrangwen: Zweig and Roth I have on my shelves, but haven't heard of the others. Looks like a good book if I can find it translated.

>97 Tess_W: I hope you will be able to find it! I think that Zweig and Roth are the most famous ones. I have read Toller and have heard of Keun, but was not aware of the other authors mentioned in the book.

Troubles is set immediately after the War when the Irish tried to get away from the British Empire, and we spend two years with an eccentric family stuck in a dilapidating hotel. Frankly, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to make of this.

>99 MissWatson: I listened to the audio edition a few weeks ago and I kept thinking, “Are we in an insane asylum?”
I’m given to understand that the hotel represents British rule… okay; but what are the cats? IRA? Just cats?
I liked it; but I felt like I was missing the key to fully unlock the text.

>100 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Yes, that's my impression, too.

Over the weekend, I finished reading All Human Wisdom (Les Enfants du désastre/Paris Between-the-Wars #2 by Pierre Lemaitre) - Marcel Péricourt has passed away and his daughter, Madeleine is his heir to the financial empire that he built. But Madeleine is too naive and trusting and ends up being fleeced by those closest to her. Hell, however has no fury like a woman betrayed, especially when the woman is a mother who must avenge not only the insult to herself but the injury done to her son. The backdrop to this vengeance tale is the heavy financial deficit France experienced after WWI, the tax evasion schemes that the rich were able to take advantage of, and the rearmament of Germany/rise of Nazism. If it doesn't quite pack the punch of the first book in the series, The Great Swindle, it's still far more clever than your average grifter tale and; I'm am told by my husband who has read the trilogy that the last book, Mirror of Our Sorrows returns to form. Trigger warning for child sexual abuse-- though not graphically depicted, Lemaitre leaves no doubt as to what has happened.

I'm now listening to It Can't Happen Here (by Sinclair Lewis; narrated by Grover Gardner) and;
about to start The Sun Also Rises (by Ernest Hemingway).

>79 Tess_W: One of my automatic recommendations is called fighting for the forest - it is about the CCC.

>103 EGBERTINA: TY I will look that one up!

I finished To Serve Them All My Days by R. F. Delderfield (1972). It tells the story of David Powlett-Jones, a Welsh miner's son, who begins his teaching of history at a rural public school in Devon shortly after being released from a shell-shock ward in 1918. The book follows him through his years of teaching, as he slowly heals and makes his way from inexperienced teacher to respected teacher to headmaster of the school. Throughout the book, Delderfield has David (aka "Pow-Wow"-everyone has a nickname in this book) comment on the Great War, British politics, and British life in general. The book ends in the midst of war in 1940.

I really wanted to love this book, and at first I felt swept up by the story. But after about 300 pages, it felt somewhat the same and just seemed to go on and on and on. There were highs and lows; marriages and children; new boys at the school; difficult colleagues and bosses. There is a lot of "Old Boy" lingo that completely flew over my head.

I think I might have liked it better if Delderfield had broken the 600+ pages into 2 or 3 books, with real story arcs to each. I might have enjoyed the first book, and then after a break, moved on to the next. But all in one go became a chore for me, sorry to say. I think if I had grown up in this era in Britain or had listened to my parents talk about it, the book might have had more meaning for me.

I can't help but comparing my reaction to A Month in the Country (>88 kac522:) and To Serve Them All My days (>105 kac522:). Both start out with a wounded WWI serviceman who goes into a rural setting to heal.

In a mere 135 pages, I think Carr conveyed more to me about British rural life, recovery and the difficulties of re-entering civilian day-to-day life (set over one summer) than all 624 pages of Delderfield's 22-year saga. Every word that Carr put on the page was for a reason; Delderfield seemed to "tell" and not "show", as they say. I'm not much of an analyst of literature, but I know which of these 2 books will quickly fade, and which will stick in my memory for a very long time to come.

I completed The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. It was an evocative book that took place in Texas & California from 1921-1936 focusing on the Dust Bowl. It was the very best book I have ever read of the account of one "Okie" family (although from Texas). I will certainly be seeking out other books by this author. 469 pages 5 stars

I forgot to add that I finished The Pursuit of Love, which I really liked. Set in the 1930’s up to the first of WWII, its mood grows more serious toward the end, although Mittford’s witty style kept it from being too serious, i.e., no tear jerking here. Caricatured characters and boisterous scenes in the beginning calm down to a more appropriate tone for the wartime ending.

I’m now reading The Hamlet by William Faulkner, published 1931.

>106 kac522: What a great contrast! I will definitely put Carr's book on my WL!

>109 Tess_W: Yes, when I was about half-way through Delderfield's book it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Carr's book is one to read with care as the story, slowly but surely, reveals itself to you, just like the painting the main character is restoring. You may find you need to look up some architectural terms, and you'll get more out of it if you understand what Brits mean by "Church" vs. "Chapel"--and the types of people who attend each. But even if you don't, it's an amazing little book.

It can't Happen Here (by Sinclair Lewis ; narrated by Grover Gardner) - In the 1930's, fascism is on the rise in Europe; but in the United States, everyone thinks, "It can't happen here". And then it does when Buzz Windrip, running on a populist platform becomes President. Doremus Jessup, a Vermont newspaper editor sees everything unfold with the practiced eye of a newsman, but fails to sway many of his friends or colleagues. Eventually, like many in the country, he is caught up paying large consequences for small acts of rebellion; but all the while retaining the belief that the US will self-correct in the future. Sinclair Lewis has Jessup argue various political theories & practices (e.g., Markism, socialism, democracy, religion) and sees this rupture in the Great American Experiment as a reflexive action patterned after the seemingly efficient governments of Hitler & Mussolini; but the author discounts the Constitutional violations perpetrated by the Wilson administration in 1917-18 that had its direct repercussions in the following decades up though the present day. Sinclair Lewis's inducement to write this political fiction was his wife, Dorothy Thompson, a journalist who accurately reported, to an incredulous American audience, what was going on in Germany during the rise of Nazism. Though written nearly ninety years ago, it still holds up.

Smoke and Ashes spends much time with Gandhi's followers on their protest marches while Wyndham and Banerjee investigate some gruesome murders at Christmas 1921.

Maybe I went too fast and skimmed; but I don't think I did. When I started reading Ulysses, by James Joyce, I had intended on reading with a group (#80daysofulysses) and take it slowly. However, my thinking after the first five episodes was that it was so bad that I could not imprison myself in this book for 80 days! I was not prepared to read this book as each section (chapter) was entitled with the name of a Greek myth of which I was not aware. I had read Homer's Ulysses some 50 years ago in college and don't remember it being "too bad." I have never liked to read mythology so I had to look up every mythological event or person and get some background to try to understand the section. It didn't work. As much as I want to experience broad types of literature, I can honestly say I will never read a book written in stream of consciousness again! This book was nothing more than blathering to me. It reminded me of the Marx Brothers and slap-stick comedy, which I don't find funny. I can honestly say that I am not a better person for reading this. Since I'm in the minority, I'll admit it must have gone right over my head! I even used SparkNotes to help me try to understand each unit. I understood what I read in SparkNotes, but how that was deduced from what Joyce wrote, I am unable to understand. I won't be reading anymore Joyce! 768 pages 2.5 stars (only because I finished it). This was published in 1920. (Banned in the U.S. until 1933 when the Supreme Court allowed it to be published)

I tried to read it, but just couldnt and I know lts about mythology. Decided it was not for me but I give .thanks to the person who told me to read the last paragraph and oh! I wish the book was something I can enjoy, but this makes me swoon every time

“I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another… then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.”

Edited excuse my rudeness, this is a topic that is senitive to me. Your comment on its banning makes me wonder if you think this still should be. Comments?

finally cleared away some of my june titles, and can now read the elephants journey Usually after I finish an outstanding book its hard for me to pick another read. Not now, quite enjoying this

show boat for June authors challenge Edna Ferber

I completed Burmese Days by George Orwell. This was Orwell's first novel and I'm very glad he improved. This wasn't a "bad" work, but not as well written or as satisfying as 1984, Animal Farm, or Keep the Aspidistra Flying. There was no subtly in this book, nothing graceful, nothing to ponder and chew on. It seemed as if everything was large, loud, and in your face. The characters were either reprehensible, idiotic, or pathetic. The story takes place in Burma during the British Empire. It was the story of racism and corruption. I listened to this on audio (10 hrs 17 mins=269 pages) 3 stars (Published in 1934)

>117 Tess_W: I read that last year. I found it relentlessly depressing and the racism overwhelming.

I finished Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence This is the novelized Scopes Monkey Trial. (1922) My copy was written in play format. The Scopes Trial was the landmark case most people would say about teaching evolution in school. The real purpose of the case was to decide WHO controlled the schools, the local school board or the State. Evolution was just the vehicle through which control would be established. Of course, names and places were changed, but it would be obvious to anyone who has studied this case who the principal players were. Good reading if one is interested in the topic; if not, would probably bore you. There have been several famous movies made from this event with stars such as Jason Robards, Spencer Tracy, and George C. Scott. 3.5 stars (I like the non-fiction version best!) 144 pages I didn't know if I should post this in this time period because the actual event took place in 1922 or the next period as it was published in 1955. I chose this one!

Brideshead Revisited (by Evelyn Waugh; narrated by Jeremy Irons) - Starting in 1923, this the account of Charles Ryders' relationship with Sebastian Flyte-- beginning during their first year at Oxford and; then with Charles' relationship with Sebastian's sister, Julia which continues until the eve of WWII. This novel evokes a nostalgia for an idealized England, a glorious tapestry of traditions & expectations masquerading as civilization, even as it unravels under the chafing of human dissolution and faltering faith. I first read this book in high school, when the BBC mini-series aired in 1982, about a year after Prince Charles & Princess Diana were married-- and overall there was a pervasive Anglophilia here in the US. I was very caught up in the imagery of wealth and had a crush on Anthony Andrews who played Sebastien in the series. About fifteen years ago, I re-read it and my attention was caught by the homosexual aspects of Charle & Sebastian's relationship and mourned its end, dismissing the subsequent affair that Charles had with Julia-- which at the time, seemed like a small part of the story. This time, I listened to the audio narrated by Jeremy Irons (who plays Charles in the 1982 adaptation) and it is glorious. I payed more attention to the novel as a whole, not just select bits or sections. Sebastian figures into half of the story, with the other half given over to Julia-- and both are central to the themes of faith & forgiveness. Every time I have read this book, I have come away with a bit of a book hangover, a sadness over the inevitability of the end.

>120 Tanya-dogearedcopy: What a great review! On my WL it goes!

I just finished I finished Mission to Moscow, Joseph E. Davies' memoir, sort of, of his two years (1936 through 1938) as U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union. I say "sort of" because the book is not a narrative but a series of journal and diary entries as well as many of Davies' official reports and correspondences with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, President Roosevelt, and other government officials. There is quite a bit of repetition, as sometimes, for example, a report to Hull is immediately followed by a very similar report to Roosevelt. That said, the accumulation of information and insights that Davies provides ends up being pretty interesting for someone (like me) with an interest in the events of this era. Davies was in Moscow, and part of the inner diplomatic circle, during the purge trials and the run-up to World War Two. Interestingly, this book was published in October 1941, just 6 weeks or so before Pearl Harbor.

I've posted a longer review on my Club Read thread.

I finally finished reading The Sun Also Rises (by Ernest Hemiingway)! It's only about 250 pages long, but for whatever reason, it didn't grab me me way that A Farewell to Arms did last month. Hemingway's reportorial style is at its peak here, with short bursts of descriptive language and dialogue with which the reader needs to project meaning. We have only the evidence of what we "see and hear" as opposed to any interior monologue that would reveal any deeper significance to the goings-on in the story. The story itself is that of Jake Barnes, an American WWI veteran who was physically emasculated during the war and, Brett, Lady Ashley, his platonic love interest who jumps from bed-to-bed with various paramours even as she depends on Jake to rescue her from various scrapes. A clique of five that includes Jake & Brett head from France to Spain for the bullfights. A lot of drinking and recovering form hangovers, brilliant flashes of imagery and cryptic phrasing make for a picture of the Lost Generation; but hardly the "Bright Young Things" of the Roaring Twenties. I rarely give less than a four-star rating for Classics; but in this case, The Sun Also Rises only gets a three, maybe three-and-a-half star rating: It didn't really feel like much of a story-- more like a vignette of life long ago and far away of a few people who couldn't quite get their acts together.

I finished reading The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931 by Adam Tooze two weeks ago, but haven't managed to write up a full review of the book yet. There was a lot to absorb from this one. I will say that it's obvious Tooze did a great deal of research, and his arguments are well-considered. America emerged from the war as the most unscathed country and the richest. But America's refusal to grant any concessions regarding war debt to its allies, especially France, meant that those same allies were unable to reduce their demands on Germany in the peace following the war. Tooze points out the huge damage that WWI had done to France, and that the recovery was going to cost them enormous sums. If they had to continue to pay off their war debt to the US, they had no way to make concessions to Germany. We have tended to blame France for being too harsh to Germany after the war, but Tooze clearly shows that France was left without much alternative. This book clarifies a great deal of what happened during the end of WWI, international relations following the war, and the events that occurred in the 20's that influenced everything that came after.

The coverage of this book is both broad and detailed, as he covers events in Russia, Japan, and China, as well as Europe and the US. There is much, much more to say about the book, but I unfortunately don't have time to address it right now. It is a dense book and not a quick read. But for anyone like me who is interested in history, I would highly recommend it.

>124 atozgrl: I started this book in both audio and in ebook format-- and failed both times. I had difficulty getting through the Introduction and the idea of Imperialism beginning in the aftermath of WWI. I need to do a little bit more prep before I try and tackle this again. This is not a reflection of the book or the author; but more about my ability to focus and sort information in my head these days!

>125 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I'm not sure where you got the idea that he thought Imperialism began at the end of WWI. He talks about Imperialism in the 1800's. And he discusses America's goals at the end of the war, one of which was to suppress European imperialism, since the US wanted an Open Door and not having the world divided into "spheres of interest." Most of the political leaders were trying to create something new and end imperialism after the war.

He covers a lot in this book, and it definitely does require some focus! That's part of why it has been taking me so long to try to write something about the book.

>126 atozgrl: Well, if I got it wrong from the get-go, that would explain why I was having difficulty with what what Tooze was saying! 🤦🏻‍♀️
I'll have to take my time with it the next time I try and tackle it. It was one of those times I felt really dumb; but "soft-dnf"-ed it-- meaning I put it down for now but plan to return to it later 🙂

ETA: Interestingly, the second book in Pierre Lemaitre's Les enfants du désastre series, Mirror of Our Sorrows, is set in Paris after WWI and in the context of Germany not being able to pay war reparations. In France, this led to taxing schemes and fraud at the highest levels. I was just trying to find some "real-world" citations for this and didn't find anything relating to the post-war era specifically (though this was just a quick Google); but I did find out that Germany just managed to pay off their WWI debt a smidge under one hundred years later and; that France is currently fighting high-level and systemic financial corruption... Anyway, in the novel, it doesn't point any farther than France (i.e. does not bring the US into the picture even tangentially); but I don't know if Lemaitre didn't include it as being a matter irrelevant to his thriller or if it was redacted for English audiences.

Anyway, thank you for posting about The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931. I think I may make it a single quarterly read next go-round. And hopefully someone will put together a study guide somewhere by then... "Tooze for Dummies"! 😂

>127 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That whole thing about France that Tooze pointed out was new to me, and I think it's important. France has so often been painted as the bad guy when it comes to reparations, but most of the war was fought in France and Belgium, so the damage there was enormous, and the Germans deliberately destroyed the French coal mines, so they couldn't even use that to mine coal, both for their own needs and to sell to earn money. And the US bears responsibility, because they refused to help their allies and either write off or make it easier for them to repay their war debt to the US. That was one of the many things he brought to light that I was not aware of.

It took me a month to read, although I was busy with some other things at the time that may have slowed me down some. Picking it as a single read for the quarter might be a good plan.

"And hopefully someone will put together a study guide somewhere by then... "Tooze for Dummies"!" Ha! That sounds like a great idea! 😂

I should also add that Tooze did say that Imperialism was a new thing, and not part of the "ancien regime." He even mentions that the word "imperialism" only came into widespread use around 1900. He was apparently arguing against some traditional theory held by some historians that seeks to explain the "interwar disaster." Maybe his discussion of Imperialism as being a new thing from the later 1800's and not something going back much further in European history was the source of the confusion.

>124 atozgrl: through >129 atozgrl:

If it is any comfort, or something like solace, the U.S. did exactly the same thing in WWII. The Lend-Lease Act was just that - a lending program, with interest attached. The only way FDR could help Britain was to write explicit repayment into the act. The U.K. wrote the last check to pay off the U.S. for its WWII debt in 2007. That fact, goes a long way to explain why WWII rationing went on in the U.K. until 1965 and rationing ended in France and Germany with the implementation of the Marshall Plan. During the first half of the 20th Century the U.S. could best be described as parsimonious. We certainly weren't the benevolent saviors of the Free World that we like to think we were. The U.S. was out to make money and stay isolated while doing it.

>130 benitastrnad:

My understanding of US "dollar diplomacy" during the Suez Crisis:

When Ike decided that Britain-France-Israel in Sinai (1956) were getting a bit too much (he didn't want a confrontation with the USSR in the Middle East, especially when he was running for reelection, and he didn't want any Western imperial adventure when he was condemning the Warsaw Pact invasion of Hungary), Ike made it clear to Anthony Eden that the British were to pull the plug on the Sinai operation or Ike would call in those WWII debts so quickly as to crash the British economy.

That's what crashed Eden's government and made Macmillan PM. I've never been able to figure out what went wrong there, the reason for the mixed signals from Washington to London that let Eden think the Sinai operation would be okay with Ike. It seems like Foster Dulles (a hawk compared to Ike the realist) gave some kind of a green light, but I'm not sure whether he was freelancing or whether Ike was using Dulles to float a trial balloon to see if a Sinai operation could be done quickly without the serious fallout that actually occurred.

By 1956, Macmillan had moved from the Foreign Office to Exchequer. I think Macmillan had a closer relationship with Ike from their war years than Eden did and that Macmillan (had he still been Foreign Secretary in 1956) might have gotten a better sense of Ike's feelings.

>130 benitastrnad: yup I remember being shocked by the poverty in post war Britain and didn't understand for a very long time. Surprised they are stil our allie

Reading through the thread, it looks like you have all done some very significant reading for this time period. I opted for something easier. I was lucky enough to find a book in a mystery series I’m reading that fit the between the wars challenge. The Bee’s Kiss sees Joe Sandilands investigating the murder of well-heeled lady at the Ritz. With the aid of a detective sergeant he’d last seen in the trenches and a society girl turned constable, Joe was introduced to various facets of English high society as well as the slippery morality of those at the other end of the spectrum. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out where loyalty lies.

It's the last day of the month and I didn't get to For Whom the Bell Tolls (by Ernest Hemingway); but I did okay for the quarter:

📚 1918 - 1920 The Great Swindle (Les Enfants du Désastre Trilogy #1; by Pierre Lemaitre; translated from the French by Frank Wynne) #HistoricalFiction (Battle of the Meuse)
🎥 1918 - 1920 Au revoir là-haut - (2017) Based on the novel, The Great Swindle (see above); screenplay written by, directed by, and starring Albert Dupontel
🎧 1919 - 1921 Troubles (Empire Trilogy #1; J. G. Farrell; narrated by Kevin Hely) #HistoricalFiction
🎧 1923 - 1945 Brideshead Revisited (by Evelyn Waugh; narrated by Jeremy Irons) #HistoricalFiction
🎙️ 1920s Stephen Fry’s Secrets of the Roaring Twenties (written by John Woolf & Nick Baker; narrated by Stephen Fry) #Podcast #NonFiction (No touchstone yet)
📚 1920s The Sun Also Rises (by Ernest Hemingway #PeriodFiction
📚 1921 - Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (by David Grann) #NonFiction
📚 1927 - 1933 All Human Wisdom (Les Enfants du Désastre Trilogy #2; by Pierre Lemaitre; translated from the French by Frank Wynne) #HistoricalFiction
🎧 1936 - It Can’t Happen Here (by Sinclair Lewis; narrated by Grover Gardner) PeriodFiction #AlternateReality

My favorite is Brideshead Revisited and the audiobook narration by Jeremy Irons is "Chef's Kiss" :-)

>130 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita! I had never heard that WWII rationing in the U.K. lasted all the way until 1965. Very interesting fact! The US certainly could have done more to help our allies after both wars.

(Apologies for the belated response. I'm just now back in town and catching up on LT.)

I recently finished The Trackers by Charles Frazier, a good historical novel set during the later stages of the Great Drepression in Wyoming and elsewhere throughout the U.S. If interested, you can find a longer review on my Club Read thread.

Rather late posting, but in August I read Good Daughters by Mary Hocking (1984). This is a quiet story, the first in a trilogy, of a family with 3 daughters (ages 16, 12, 9), set from 1933 through 1937. It's mostly told from the point of view of Alice, the 12-year-old, and is about their day-to-day lives with friends, neighbors, relatives and a unnerving undercurrent of the tidings of war. I loved this book, particularly as it reveals the inner lives of the 3 daughters at their various stages of childhood to young adult.