Many people who study or write about history have a tendency to focus on specific incidents rather than a larger time period, looking at the event first and then setting it within a time frame. In his new book America, 1908, Jim Rasenberger takes a different, almost backwards approach. As the title implies, this book looks at one pivotal year when many important things happened in America or because of Americans. It's hard to believe that one year could be so full of momentous events, but Rasenberger does a good job of organizing this twelve-month period and showing how it epitomized the spirit of a time when innovation blossomed and everything was becoming bigger, faster, and better than it ever had been before.
There are so many things taking place in this book that it would be easy for it to become confusing or encyclopedic, but Rasenberger has a great ability to make each event fascinating. From the steps that the Wright Brothers were taking to develop flight, to the quest to reach the North Pole, to a twenty thousand mile race by automobile from New York to Paris over primitive or even nonexistent roads: each chronicled event in America, 1908 is exciting and also touches on the main characters involved in that particular quest, humanizing these achievements. The result is entertaining and very readable.
1908 is also a wonderful year to explore because Americans were so optimistic about the future. Every day could and often did bring a new device or machine or invention that would make life easier or open the world more completely. Everyone felt like things could only get better, our worst problems would be solved, and being an American was a wonderful thing to be. It's very satisfying to read about a time before we became more cynical about our future.
The book combines well-known incidents (such as the Wright Brothers' flights at Kitty Hawk and outside Paris) with lesser-known stories (the epic baseball battle between the New York Giants and the Chicago Cubs). This gives the reader a real sense of the time and place, rather than just highlighting the major incidents that we may already know about. All in all, it's a fascinating look at one year in our history that still affects us in so many ways today.
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