Review of 'America, 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T and the Making of a Modern Nation' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A focus on a single year, and what a year this was. Thrilling baseball and milestones of flight, a crazy round-the-world race and race to the pole, and the start of the Model T. Was apparently used as a textbook at one point - doesn't read like it.
The story begins with the rich getting away with crimes, how American. These events are the least recognizable to fans of history. In chapters roughly a month at a time, the author details what leads up to events and what happens, with the reason this is impactful. Some events tie into others, and these connections are often used to transition.
The author has said other books have been written about many of these events, and that leads to the brevity here. I think he did a good job summarizing and explaining necessary details. I would have appreciated a brief "what happened after" …
A focus on a single year, and what a year this was. Thrilling baseball and milestones of flight, a crazy round-the-world race and race to the pole, and the start of the Model T. Was apparently used as a textbook at one point - doesn't read like it.
The story begins with the rich getting away with crimes, how American. These events are the least recognizable to fans of history. In chapters roughly a month at a time, the author details what leads up to events and what happens, with the reason this is impactful. Some events tie into others, and these connections are often used to transition.
The author has said other books have been written about many of these events, and that leads to the brevity here. I think he did a good job summarizing and explaining necessary details. I would have appreciated a brief "what happened after" epilogue, especially after having spent so much time on Harry Thaw.
I read this as an audio book, and no doubt missed out on many pictures. I found a summary article from the Smithsonian that had several, and know the era well enough - wikipedia is also your friend. Overall rating 3½ stars out of 5.