Silver Threads

Silver Thrreads

ONLY YESTERDAY--Frederick Lewis Allen--Harper ($3).

Like a fidgety child, the present will not stand still long enough for its parents to get a good likeness of it; too often you have to wait until a generation is dead before you can get a satisfactory look at it. But Author Allen, by a quick contortion, has snapshotted history almost in the flesh. Reading his readable chronicle of the 1920's you may be surprised at the number of events you had almost forgotten, more surprised to see that "the eleven years between the end of the War with Germany and the stockmarket panic which culminated on November 13, 1929" is "a distinct era in American history."

Some of the things you may have forgotten: Man Jong, Floyd Collins, the Boston Police strike, Coue, Jess Smith, Jane Gibson; the first radio station (KDKA, East Pittsburgh, Nov. 2, 1920), first bathing-beauty contest (Washington, D. C., 1921). A revolution in manners and morals accurately indicated by changing skirt-lengths had its beginning, middle and end in the last decade, says Author Allen. Advertising changed its key. "In 1919 the Listerine advertisement said simply: 'The prompt application of Listerine may prevent a minor accident from becoming a major infection,' whereas in 1929 it began a tragic rhapsody with the words, 'Spring! for everyone but her.'"

Author Allen gives what he says is the first connected account of the Harding scandals, of the late lamented Bull Market. Coolidge Prosperity, the reign of ballyhoo, Babbitry, the Florida boom, the rise of the racketeer--all these are set forth in rapid, competent, factual narrative. Author Allen has "wondered whether some readers might not be interested and perhaps amused to find events and circumstances which they remember well-which seem to have happened only yesterday--woven into a pattern which at least masquerades as history." The Book-of-the-Month Club has answered his question by choosing Only Yesterday for their December book.

The Author is a product of the period he writes about, has had a good journalistic bird's-eye view of it. Graduated in 1912 from Harvard (where he worked on the Lampoon with Critic Robert Benchley, Artist Gluyas Williams), he went from a teaching job at his alma mater to the Atlantic Monthly, to the late Century Magazine as its managing editor, to the editorial staff of Harper's Magazine. He is now associate editor of Harper's. Though he has written much for magazines, Only Yesterday is his first book.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.