“A perfectly grand piece of historical record and synthetic journalism.” —
Chicago Daily Tribune
From Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor-in-chief of
Harper’s
magazine, comes a classic history of 1920s America, from the end of World War I to the stock market crash and the beginning of The Great Depression. Originally published in 1931,
Only Yesterday
has an exuberance and proximity to its subject—the Roaring Twenties in all its scandal and glory—that uniquely captures the feel of the era.
deals with that delightful decade from the Armistice in November 1918 to the panic and depression of 1929-30. Here is the story of Woodrow Wilson's defeat, the Harding scandals, the Coolidge prosperity, the revolution in manners and morals, the bull market and its smash-up. Allen's lively narrative brings back an endless variety of half-forgotten events, fashions, crazes, and absurdities. Deftly written, with a humorous touch,
traces, beneath the excitements of day-to-day life in the 20s, those currents in national life and thought which are the essence of true history.