Rating: 
Summary: The last two pages made it all come together
Review: I promised my friend Sabrina that I would write the review I gave her---the book's a five until the last two pages and then it's a nine. Why? Well you have to understand this is not a typical novel. Another reviewer called it a tapestry, I like that image, but I am going to use the analogy that the book is more like a puzzle---it doesn't look like much, until all the pieces are put together. The underlying plot asks but one question: How are we connected? This is a story of divergent people who converge and Doctorow's ability to involve significant people of the time is masterful. It reads quickly and I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Step into the Ragtime machine!
Review: This book turned me onto the scope of America's short history, the pervasive hypocrisy of its institutions, and what it means to be an American. May we live in strange times! It's gonna be okay - let's hope!
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Summary: YOU ARE THERE
Review: This book takes you inside the hearts and minds of the people who made the world we live in. There are no boring sections. This is a big story full of informative detail that keep you reading on and on to see what's going to happen next. The author was either there in several past-lives, or in this life, carefully researched the era and the shakers and innovators at the beginning of the 20th century. I highly recommend this book for it's educational and entertainment content.
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Summary: LOTS OF FUN
Review: I love it when I can get a history lesson in a painless, entertaining way. Ragtime is full of walk-on scenes by famous personalities of the era. Sigmund Freud, Henry Ford, JP Morgan, Harry Houdini, etc. I was inspired to do some internet research on people I'd never heard of before, such as anarchist Emma Goldman and the black polar explorer Matthew Henson. A very quick read, only 270 pages, well worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Masterful, yet slow.
Review: The writings of Doctorow can be compared to the weaving of a tapestry. All tapestries begin as balls of thread and eventually form the end product. Ragtime is much like that. It lacks overall vision until the end product is revealed. If you are a tenacious reader you should be delighted with the final product. Ragtime is a true masterpiece, providing a look at life as the outcome of social and cultural influences. Well worth the read.
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Summary: A Modern Day Sinclair Lewis/F. Scott Fitzgerald
Review: I cant help but wonder how many people have seen the musical, and as a result were inspired to come over here and check out the book. - - I read the book first, but if youre just coming back from seeing the road tour of the scaled down RAGTIME, I can only assure you, that reading the book will be a lot like watching the musical. (In fact the play sticks much closer to the novel than the movie.) It is passionate, a flurry of sights, sounds colors and actions and the story unfolds like a great screenplay. The director of RAGTIME commenting in CREATING RAGTIME (PBS documentary)noted how almost every sentence could be a scene in a play. I agree with him ! Doctorow has told a tale in this short novella that another author would have needed a book as big as Nicholas Nickelbey to tell, and the charactors are equally memorable. His ability to write in such a streamlined book, yet paint such an epic portrait should earn this book a place aside the great literary classics of Americana. I have read both the novel and seen the play over and over again and it will forever remain an all time favorite. Listen to RAGTIME (Broadway cast recording) as you read the book for an added experience ! ! !
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Summary: Read this book and learn something
Review: Ragtime was an excellent book. I found it hard to put it down. Doctorow did a good job at blending together historical facts along with fiction. The story line was fairly well, and it was totally interesting. Everyone need to read this book. At times I was laughing when I was reading this book, and later crying. Please read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent book
Review: I finished this book a few days ago, and I liked it. It was pretty entertaining, had a few interesting ideas, and did a good job in meshing fictional and historical characters, albeit in superficial ways. However, there are some things about the book that I found a bit troublesome. The novel purports to depict America at the beginning of the 20th Century, from about 1906 to 1914. Past reviewers seem to emphasize the importance of the time period. However, the primacy of this time period to the stories involved is unclear; which may be why some reviewers of this book mistakenly depict it as occurring in the 1920's. Aside from the placement of its characters (e.g., JP Morgan didn't make it past 1913), there does not seem to be any particular reason why this time period was used. Certainly the stories of Tatel and Walker could have been set in the 1890's or the 1920's. In fact, it seems that the only importance of the time period is the depiction of historical figures such as Ford, Morgan and Houdini. However, their stories seemed more or less side tales that focused more on their idiosyncracies than their impact on the people of this time period. As such, this book did not give me some powerful image of the time period that other reviewers seem to have. There are some interesting elements concerning the time period, but their connection with the story of the family, Walker, and Tatel seemed seemed incidental and irrelevant. I ask myself, "How would this story be different if it were set in any time between 1890 and 1930 (a 40 year span!)?" and I cannot find an answer, except to say that the departures from the plot (Morgan, Goldman, Thaw, etc.) and some minor plot elements (such a Father's North Pole trip) would be different. One thing I will note is that other reviewers have praised the depiction of this time period. However, their descriptions not only vary greatly, but are applicable to many other time periods in American history. In conclusion, the novel is easy to read, interesting, and somewhat entertaining. However, for a novel that is praised as historical, it is bit disappointing. While some of the descriptions pertaining to the time period are interesting, their connection to the plot is too tenuous.
Rating:
Summary: See the Musical
Review: There's something satisfying in reading, at the end of the century, a book about its beginning. Doctorow evokes a splendid sense of our world almost 100 years ago and it's a delight to put in perspective celebrities that seem part of our collective memory. The book is a fast, seamless read and I'm a fool for social causes - hence, four stars. However, I found the tone of the book almost childish and the continuous set of "contrived" encounters too contrived. My recommendation: buy the movie at Amazon.com or, better yet, see the musical!
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Summary: A memorable, enjoyable read
Review: E. L. Doctorow's "Ragtime" is a breezy fast-paced romp weaving together both historical and fictional characters from the very beginning of the 20th century in America. In fact, Doctorow's novel purposely has the same pacing and sectioning as a piece of ragtime music. This is a sprawling work, which is at the same time respectful and critical--respectful of the period and its culture yet critical of the great divide between rich and poor and the disregard for minorities and immigrants. This book is completely engrossing and, through Doctorow's style of treating historical characters as fictional characters, both entertaining and educational.
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