I grabbed book five on cd at our local library. I haven’t read/listened to a Bill Bryon book that I didn’t like. Since our weather has gotten better, my commute has gone back to being book-friendly.
The cd version of One Summer: America, 1927, by Bill Bryson, was read by the author. The book purportedly covers the events that were crammed into the summer of 1927. In reality, it covers important, interesting, or odd events that lead up to or came after 1927. For example, when discussing Charles Lindburg’s transatlantic flight, it also covers his childhood, his marriage, and his mistresses. Also during the summer of 1927, Al Capone ruled Chicago, Babe Ruth ruled baseball, other pilots attempted daring flights, the stage was set for the stock market crash, the Mississippi River flooded to historic levels, and prohibition was in full swing.
This book did not disappoint. Much like A Brief History of Nearly Everything, there was so much information crammed into its’ pages that I found it hard to take it all in. Listening to it on cd made it sometimes difficult to follow, but it was still a great listen. Bryson’s wit and writing style turned what could have been a boring list of facts into an historical romp.
Gnotting Gecko 