The Way We Lived (The Eventful 20th Century)

By Reader's Digest Association

This is a condensed historical overview. It is a great gift to our younger generation as a keepsake of their passage into the new millennium. A reminscence for the elderly as they see their place in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0762102586
• ISBN13: 9780762102587
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Readers Digest
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.5" x 0.6" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A good quick reference guide

This is a really good book to have for those who are interested in 20th century history, younger people who might be interested in how their recent ancestors lived, and writers of historical fiction. It neatly summarises most of the important aspects of life and how they've changed since 1900, such as travel, work, leisure, food, marriage, music, films, clothing, housing, religion, medicine, technology, and education. Important figures in all of these fields are covered, both the well-known names such as Dr. Jonas Salk, The Beatles, FDR, Billy Graham, and Teddy Roosevelt, along with names that generally aren't as well-known, such as Elton Mayo, Walter Gropius, Gerard Blitz, A.S. Neill, and Dr. Pierre Budin. Although since it's written very much in a magazine style instead of being some all-comprehensive encyclopedic masterwork, one shouldn't expect a scholarly or highly involved or detailed treatment of these subjects. (Indeed, some events that many people would consider pretty important in a study of the 20th century are rather glossed over or not even mentioned.) It's meant to be a concise and entertaining reference volume, with the most important facts and figures on each topic and sub-topic, not the be-all and end-all of how we lived during and how life changed over the course of the 20th century, to a world that someone born in or living in 1900 would scarcely even recognise. It really is stunning to look back and realise just how quickly and drastically the world changed during those hundred years, far more so than during the 19th century or any centuries previously. My only complaint about the book is that it does spell a couple of names wrong (e.g., Vilma Bankey instead of Vilma Banky), and there are a couple of factual errors, the most glaring of which was their listing of 'Casablanca' with some of the major movies that were released during Hollywood's golden year of 1939, when it was actually released in 1942. Still, this is meant to be a fun quick guide and stroll down memory lane, not some comprehensive scholarly volume, so it's not like a couple of minor errors here and there really detract that much from the overall picture.

A Must Keepsake

This is an excellent condensed historical overview to have in your library for all ages. It is a great gift to our younger generation as a keepsake of their passage into the new millennium. Additionally,it is a reminscence for the elderly as they see their place in that timeframe. It marks mankind's development, triumphs, and failures in social, health, family, education, science, etc., during the 20th century. My only critcism is the short sentence to summarize the Holocaust which tended to minimize it. This is magazine-type read. The photos present the timeframe in and of themselves. A great gift item to have as a coffee table read.