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From my library: Twilight at the World of Tomorrow

Card catalogue data
Twilight at the World of Tomorrow: Genius, Madness, Murder, and the 1939 World’s Fair on the Brink of War by James Mauro (New York: Ballantine Books, 2010)
Category: History
Format: Hard cover from a used bookstore
Pages: 350 (405 with end matter)

This is the first book I’ve read in January, and thus the first book of 2017. Although the case could be made for counting it as the 23rd book of 2016 since I only read the final few pages on January 1. No matter. Let’s count it for 2017 since I have a higher goal this year.

First paragraph

By all accounts, 1934 was a remarkable year: Flash Gordon made his first appearance in the comic strips, and Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, would go on to win every major Academy Award. In May, one of the worst storms of the Dust Bowl swept away massive heaps of Great Plains topsoil; in August, Adolph Hitler became Germany’s new Führer. Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, and John Dillinger were all gunned down in spectacular, tabloid-titillating fashion. On Broadway, Ethel Merman opened in Cole Porter’s big new hit, Anything Goes; while farther uptown, in Harlem, seventeen-year-old Ella Fitzgerald made her singing debut at the recently christened Apollo Theater.

Why I read this book
I have a fascination with the great world’s fairs and expositions of a bygone era and I’ve read a couple of other histories of them, including The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson and Tomorrow-Land: The 1964-65 World’s Fair and the Transformation of America by Joseph Tirella.

The book in a paragraph
This look at the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and 1940—built on The Great Gatsby’s infamous ash heaps—follows the lives of several key figures, including Albert Einstein, the Fair’s president Grover Whalen, two NYC police detectives, President Franklin Roosevelt, Mayor La Guardia, and others. It shows the irony of an extravagant gathering of nations to promote peace while the storms of World War 2 gather. The “World of Tomorrow” introduced television, the fax machine, nylon, and fluorescent lights to the world, but its lofty dreams of the future would come crashing down two years later.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
This is a wonderfully written book that focuses on a forgotten event in our past. The idea of a World’s Fair seems like an anachronism today. But in this book the excitement and drama behind the scenes are brought to life. Highly recommended.

First paragraph: Warren G. Harding

Warren Harding’s life began as the Civil War was ending. In the winter of 1864, George Tyron Harding, a Union soldier—a fifer who had once shaken President Lincoln’s hand at the White House—was sent home to the Harding family farm near Blooming Grove, Ohio, and his new wife, Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson, to recover from jaundice. The war was over before Tyron could return to his troops, and much to Phoebe’s relief, for she was carrying their first son, who arrived on November 2, 1865. Phoebe wanted to name him Winfield but her husband preferred a family name: Warren Gamaliel. Warren was Tyron’s grandmother’s maiden name, and Gamaliel an uncle’s name that would prove to be prophetic. In the Bible, Gamaliel was noted for counseling moderation and calmness.

Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., general editor) by John W. Dean (New York: Times Books, 2004)

In case you missed it, I reviewed this book yesterday.

First paragraph is an occasional feature on the blog. The first paragraph of any book should ideally set the tone of the book and whet the reader’s appetite. Some first paragraphs are even works of art in and of themselves. Others are more perfunctory but get the job effectively done. The hope is that these posts will inspire you to read more.

From my library: Warren G. Harding

Card catalogue data
Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., general editor) by John W. Dean (New York: Times Books, 2004)
Categories: U.S. history, presidential biography
Format: Hardback from the library
Pages: 170 (203 with end matter)

This is the first book I read in July, and the 16th for 2016.

Bottom line
Warren G. Harding, our 29th president, has been consistently ranked near the bottom of a list of best to worst U.S. chiefs. His legacy has been plagued with false accusations and distortions. This bio seeks to right that wrong and show Harding in the light of newly discovered papers that were long believed destroyed.

About the author
Yes, this is the John Dean who served as Richard Nixon’s White House counsel and was deeply involved in the Watergate scandal cover-up.

Why I read this book
I am pursuing a long-term goal of reading a biography of each U.S. president in order. Not surprisingly, there are not a lot of choices when looking for a biography on Harding. This one, from the Schlesinger’s American Presidents series, was unexpectedly quite good.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Sources
The author uses presidential papers which had once been thought destroyed by Mrs. Harding.

First paragraph: The Wright Brothers

From ancient times and into the middle ages, man had dreamed of taking to the sky, of soaring into the blue like the birds. One savant in Spain in the year 875 is known to have covered himself with feathers in the attempt. Others devised wings of their own design and jumped from rooftops and towers—some to their deaths—in Constantinople, Nuremberg, Perugia. Learned monks conceived schemes on paper. And starting about 1490, Leonardo da Vinci made the most serious studies. He felt predestined to study flight, he said, and related a childhood memory of a kite flying down onto his cradle.

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2015, 2016)

In case you missed it, I wrote last week in depth about this book.

From my library: The Wright Brothers

Card catalogue data
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2015, 2016)
Categories: U.S. history, biography; aeronautics
Format: Paperback
Pages: 262 (321 with end matter)

This is the third book I read in June, and the 14th book I read in 2016.

Bottom line
This engaging biography shows the tenacity, ability, and curiosity of a couple of Dayton bicycle mechanics as they begin the age of flight.

About the author/Why I read this book
I had to put these two categories together because they interweave. I love reading U.S. history and biography and there is no better writer in this genre than David McCullough. His most well-known book is John Adams, on which the 2008 HBO miniseries was based. McCullough twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for John Adams and for Truman. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom among many other awards and honors. He is among my top five favorite authors of any genre. He makes history read like a novel. I will read anything he has published.

By the way, years ago McCullough was the narrator voice for the PBS series American Experience. I love his voice. I find my mind reading his books in his voice. As a bonus, the audio version of the book is read by the author himself.

Beyond just the appeal to me of the author, the subject itself is fascinating. It’s hard for us now in the 21st century to imagine, but try to put yourself in the time frame, when manned, heavier-than-air flight was an impossibility. Yes, I knew about the Wright flier. I remember visiting D.C. as a seventh grade student and seeing it suspended in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. (You can also see a replica here locally at the Tellus Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. And at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, you can see the Wright family’s home and the Wright Cycle Shop.) But beyond the flier and knowing they carried their experiments out at KItty Hawk, I knew very little about them.

What I’ve learned
Of course I already knew of the two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright. But in this book I learned of the important roles that their sister Katharine Wright and their father Bishop Milton Wright played. I felt like I knew this family after reading this book. What was most fascinating was the brothers’ tenacity. Yes, they had abilities and intellect, but it was their dogged determination that made the difference for them. It’s a great reminder that persistence will win over talent and skill every time.

Favorite quote

No bird soars in a calm.

—Wilbur Wright

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended.

Author’s sources
McCullough’s sources are always extensive. The greatest treasure trove can be found at the Library of Congress, where many of the Wright family papers are stored. Included in this stash are the many letters the family wrote. McCullough says the entire family wrote so clearly and expressed their thoughts so well in writing. In our 21st century world we seem to be losing that ability.

Other related books
If you would like to read further on the topic of inventions and discoveries at the turn of the 20th century, I would highly recommend McCullough’s book The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, another fascinating book.