Bookish...

[2ritzy4u]

Why do we not have a book list for the Fedora Lounge?

Here are my two interests; I'd greatly appreciate recommendations and references:

1) Books on business in the Golden Era, especially auto/biographies of "captains of industry" - fascinates this business-minded person.

2) Books that really capture the essence of the time - not a cut-and-dry history book, per se, but non-fiction that makes the time come alive.

2a) Fiction written so that, though the storyline may be imaginary, the setting is so real as to be almost, if not entirely, historical fiction.

Thanks in advance! I'm looking forward to some great reading.

 

[KY Gentleman]

There is an outstanding biography of Charles Lindbergh written by A. Scott Berg you may enjoy. The author was given access to many personal letters and papers from Lindberghs archives that had never been released before. Good read, too.

 

[2ritzy4u]

There is an outstanding biography of Charles Lindbergh written by A. Scott Berg you may enjoy. The author was given access to many personal letters and papers from Lindberghs archives that had never been released before. Good read, too.

Thanks! I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[LizzieMaine]

As far as "essence of the time" nonfiction goes, you can do no better than the works of Frederick Lewis Allen. His "Only Yesterday", published in 1931, remains the definitive popular history of American life in the twenties, and "Since Yesterday," published in 1939, does the same thing for the thirties. His books have been imitated by others since, but for my money, in capturing the sense of the times by one who lived them, they have no equal.

 

[imported_the_librarian]

Here's the e-version:

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/ALLEN/cover.html

Here's a few, please forgive if they have already been mentioned:

See Here Private Hargrove by Marion Hargrove

C/O Postmaster by Corporal Thomas R.St.George

These give you a draftee's view of the conscript army. You could try Worldcat to see if there are any checkoutable ones near you:

http://worldcat.org/

Hope this helps! I could also mention Dos Passos and Sinclair Lewis, but they are a bit earlier.

What would really be cool would be to hit the Time Archive (http://www.time.com/time/coversearch) and see the booklists they have.

Sorry for the huge post, but some random ideas that might help!

 

[DeaconKC]

For business, "How to win friends and influence people." by Dale Carnegie, still a classic. For non-fiction, I would recommend "Bloody Williamson" by Paul Angle, it is the record of the bootlegging/coal mine wars of the 20s and 30s in rural Illinois. And for fiction, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novels.