Description:
"America irate over Lusitania sinking" (May 1915). "Americans and Russians meet at Elbe" (April 1945). "U.S. goes on the offensive in Vietnam" (December 1965). "U.S. launches cruise missiles" (August 1998). America's Century tells the history of the belligerent 20th century in the form of modern newspaper articles. Though at times it seems that the 20th century was constantly racked by war, the entries in this weighty tome cover everything from military history, political changes, and scientific discoveries to cultural milestones and obituary notices. For example, headlines from 1967 include "Vince Lombardi's Packers defeat Kansas City in first Super Bowl," "Detroit race riot worst in U.S. history," "3 astronauts burn to death on launching pad in Apollo tragedy," and "Ali stripped of title for resisting draft." This lavishly illustrated book covers much of the same ground as The 20th Century Day by Day, but focuses specifically on the American experience. In addition to the now familiar newspaper format, the century has been divided up into three major periods, each of which is introduced with a brief overview. Perfect for browsing, it is difficult to put down--not surprising, when each turn of the page reveals gems such as "Trouble ahead: Casey Jones wrecks train, saves passengers" (April 1900), "Lucky Lindy hops over the Atlantic" (May 1927), "Radio Martian landing terrifies Americans" (October 1938), "Americans are in space" (July 1961), "Reagan aims high with space shield idea" (March 1983), and "California okays marijuana" (November 1996). There are even photos from the worldwide celebrations on December 31, 1999. America's Century is a beautiful book that will thrill any history buff. --Sunny Delaney
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