Ivan R. Dee
Pages: 350
•
Trim: 5½ x 8¾
978-1-56663-584-4 • Paperback • June 2004 • $21.95 • (£16.99)
David E. Kyvig is professor of history at Northern Illinois University. He has written a number of books in American history, including Explicit and Authentic Acts, which was awarded the Bancroft Prize. He lives in DeKalb, Illinois.
Chapter 1: The Circumstances of American Life in 1920
Chapter 2: Automobiles and the Construction of Daily Life
Chapter 3: Electricity and the Conditions of Daily Life
Chapter 4: Radio and the Connecting of Daily Lives
Chapter 5: Cinema and the Extension of Experience
Chapter 6: Carrying on Day by Day: Life's Basics
Chapter 7: Carrying on Year by Year: Making a Life
Chapter 8: Conflict, Crime, and Catastrophe: The Disruptions of Daily Life
Chapter 9: Culture for the Masses: The Standardizing of Daily Life
Chapter 10: Crisis: The Impact of the Great Depression
Chapter 11: Creating the New Deal: A Larger Role for Government in Daily Life
Chapter 12: Continuity and Change: American Communities at the End of the 1930s
For Further Reading
Kyvig—a respected historian . . . writes in an agreeably lucid style . . . about subjects that should be of immediate interest to all readers.
— The Review of Higher Education
Kyvig regularly comes up with illuminating details . . . and new ways of thinking about familiar subjects. . . . This is an unusually satisfying book.
— Atlantic Monthly
The details of work life, domestic life, and leisure activities make engrossing reading . . . on a level we can all understand.
— Walla Walla Union Bulletin
This enjoyable read brings the period clearly into focus.
— Forbes
Virtually encyclopedic in its coverage of a vast array of topics, yet it manages to be readable and engaging.
— Ronald E. Butchart; University Of Georgia
David Kyvig's Daily Life in the United States, 1920–1940 is an excellent social history which examines how 'ordinary people' reacted to the massive changes during what have been called the 'prosperity' and 'depression' decades.
— Roger Daniels, University of Cincinnati
Daily Life in the United States, 1920–1940 is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the origins of contemporary America.
— William L. O'Neill, Professor of History, Rutgers University; author of Coming Apart
In the midst of his quite lucid and readable analysis, the author also touches on race, gender, class and the differences between rural and urban environments. In sum, Kyvig's book represents a penetrating information-packed portrait of Main Street USA, during tumultuous times.
— Publishers Weekly
Stands strong on a bedrock of solid research and clear writing.
— Library Journal
A happy marriage of political and social history.
— William E. Leuchtenburg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, author of The Supreme Court Reborn
An excellent popular approach to an important subject by a well respected historian.
— G. Wesley Johnson, Brigham Young University