A “wonderfully written account of America in the ’30s,” the follow-up to Only Yesterday examines Black Tuesday through the end of the Depression (The New York Times). Wall Street Journal Bestseller Opening on September 3, 1929, in the days before the stock market crash, this information-packed volume takes us through one of America’s darkest times all the way to the light at the end of the tunnel. Following Black Tuesday, America plunged into the Great Depression. Panic and fear gripped the nation. Banks were closing everywhere. In some cities, 84 percent of the population was unemployed and starving. When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, public confidence in the nation slowly began to grow, and by 1936, the industrial average, which had plummeted in 1929 from 125 to fifty-eight, had risen again to almost one hundred. But America still had a long road ahead. Popular historian Frederick Lewis Allen brings to life these ten critical years. With wit and empathy, he draws a devastating economic picture of small businesses swallowed up by large corporations—a ruthless bottom line not so different from what we see today. Allen also chronicles the decade’s lighter side: the fashions, morals, sports, and candid cameras that were revolutionizing Americans’ lives. From the Lindbergh kidnapping to the New Deal, from the devastating dust storms that raged through our farmlands to the rise of Benny Goodman, the public adoration of Shirley Temple, and our mass escape to the movies, this book is a hopeful and powerful reminder of why history matters.
A history of roaring prosperity—and economic cataclysm: “The one account of America in the 1920s against which all others must be measured” (The Washington Post). Beginning November 11, 1918, when President Woodrow Wilson declared the end of World War I in a letter to the American public, and continuing through his defeat, Prohibition, the Big Red Scare, the rise of women’s hemlines, and the stock market crash of 1929, Only Yesterday, published just two years after the crash, chronicles a decade like no other. Allen, who witnessed firsthand the events he describes, immerses you in the era of flappers, speakeasies, and early radio, making you feel like part of history as it unfolds. This bestselling, enduring account brings to life towering historical figures including J. Pierpont Morgan, Henry Ford, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Al Capone, Babe Ruth, and Jack Dempsey. Allen provides insightful, in-depth analyses of President Warren G. Harding’s oil scandal, the growth of the auto industry, the decline of the family farm, and the long bull market of the late twenties. Peppering his narrative with actual stock quotes and breaking financial news, Allen tracks the major economic trends of the decade and explores the underlying causes of the crash. From the trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti to the inventions, crazes, and revolutions of the day, this timeless work will continue to be savored for generations to come.
The New York Times–bestselling history of the first half of the twentieth century—five decades that transformed America—from the author of Only Yesterday. During the first fifty years of the twentieth century, the United States saw two world wars, a devastating economic depression, and more social, political, and economic changes than in any other five-decade period before. Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor of Harper’s magazine, recounts these years—spanning World War I, the Progressive Era, the Great Depression, World War II, and the early Cold War—in vivid detail, from the fashions and customs of the times to major events that changed the course of history. Politically, the United States grew into its own as a global superpower during these years, even as domestic developments altered the everyday lives of its citizens. The introduction of the automobile, mass production, and organized labor changed the way Americans lived and worked, while innovations like penicillin and government regulation of food safety contributed to an increase in average life expectancy from forty-nine years in 1900 to sixty-eight years in 1950. With the development of a strong, centralized government, a thriving middle class, and widespread economic prosperity, the nation emerged from the Second World War transformed in virtually every way. Richly informative and delightfully readable, The Big Change is an indispensable volume charting the many changes that ushered in our contemporary age.
Lewis and Sarah Allen Teach Young Christians How to Approach Difficulties and Disappointments Biblically We all encounter problems and challenges on a daily basis, ranging from small things—traffic, losing your keys, or running late—to much bigger issues—job insecurity, health issues, and relationship struggles. What should a believer in Christ do in the face of such adversities? Authors Lewis and Sarah Allen propose that while the world may teach us one way to approach challenges, there is a better way—complete dependence on Christ and pursuit of wise living. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Christians are able to live more joy-filled lives in the midst of adversity. In a conversational and personal tone, the Allens walk through key biblical passages as they relate to challenges and share stories, case studies, and illustrations to encourage us to rely on Christ and commit to his church in the battle of Christian life. Ideal for New or Young Christians: Especially those feeling discouraged by doubt and disappointment Engaging and Interactive: Includes case studies and illustrations, with questions and prayers at the end of every chapter Practical and Realistic: Readers will receive biblical direction for applying these principles to their daily lives
A revealing biography of J. P. Morgan, one of the most powerful and enigmatic financiers in history, from bestselling author Frederick Lewis Allen. Celebrated as a titan of industry by some and decried as a monopolizing robber baron by others, John Pierpont Morgan was without a doubt a dominant player in American finance at the turn of the twentieth century. He founded U.S. Steel, a conglomeration of leading steel and iron producers, which was the nation’s largest coast-to-coast railroad system, and the first company to be worth more than $1 billion. Morgan was also instrumental in developing the Federal Reserve after working with political leaders to prevent a potentially devastating fiscal crisis in 1907. Indeed, he was a driving force in the modernization of American business, and the effects of his acumen and foresight continue to resonate today—on Wall Street and beyond. Additionally, known for his displays of wealth and power, Morgan was a prominent figure of the New York society scene—a member of the original one percent—as well as a notable art connoisseur with a sizable collection now housed in Manhattan’s lavish Morgan Library & Museum, once his own private library. In this meticulously researched and comprehensive biography, Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor of Harper’s magazine and author of Only Yesterday, delves into the life and character of a fascinating, multidimensional man. Allen also probes the evolution of the business landscape during Morgan’s lifetime, when giant corporations with unparalleled economies of scale began to absorb and replace smaller competitors. This richly detailed portrait of a man whose name is inseparable from American finance is essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of banking and business history.
A “stimulating” account of the capitalists who changed America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, setting the stage for the 1929 crash and Great Depression (Kirkus Reviews). In the decades following the Civil War, America entered an era of unprecedented corporate expansion, with ultimate financial power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists who exploited the system for everything it was worth. The Rockefellers, Fords, Morgans, and Vanderbilts were the “lords of creation” who, along with like-minded magnates, controlled the economic destiny of the country, unrestrained by regulations or moral imperatives. Through a combination of foresight, ingenuity, ruthlessness, and greed, America’s giants of industry remolded the US economy in their own image. They established their power and authority, ensuring that they—and they alone—would control the means of production, transportation, energy, and commerce—creating the conditions for the stock market collapse of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. As modern society continues to be affected by wealth inequality and cycles of boom and bust, it’s as important as ever to understand the origins of financial disaster, and the policies, practices, and people who bring them on. The Lords of Creation, first published when the catastrophe of the 1930s was still painfully fresh, is a fascinating story of bankers, railroad tycoons, steel magnates, speculators, scoundrels, and robber barons. It is a tale of innovation and shocking exploitation—and a sobering reminder that history can indeed repeat itself.
A Sons Odyssey is the third and final book on the life of Air Commodore Jack Meadows, the youngest flag officer in the RAF during World War II. The first two books, Michaels Messengers and Uncommon Warrior chronicled Jacks life from his early years in Poland until the day he disappeared near Munich, Germany on May 5th, 1945. A Sons Odyssey reflects the deep devotion of one man for another in an effort to satisfy a belief that Jack Meadows was alive somewhere in the world. A Sons Odyssey is a love story about two fathers and their sons, and the love of a mother for the father of her child.
In 1931, just three months after his mothers untimely death, 11-year-old Jacob Grunfeld and his father fled Poland on the eve of Hitlers rise to power in Germany. For eight years he lived the American dream in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland where he resided with his German-born father a noted thoracic surgeon. Fearing anti-Semitism, even in America, Jacobs father changed their surname to Meadows and young Jacob became Jack Meadows. During high school Jack learned to fly and discovered a passion that consumed him for the rest of his life. Jack was an extremely exceptional student both in the air and on the ground. Jack graduated college with honors at 18 years of age. In 1939, Jack Meadows, now an American citizen, returned to his native homeland to serve with the Polish Air Force in a futile attempt to halt Nazi aggression and the eventual murder of six million Jews. After Poland was defeated, Jack made his way to England where he joined the RAF. By early 1941, he became the leading fighter pilot among his peers in the Allied Air Forces and was a highly decorated hero of the Battle of Britain. In 1942, Jack was selected to command the 1st Polish Air Force Wing, one of the many foreign units that were an integral part of RAF. In 1939-40, when they were reconstituted in Britain, the Poles distinguished themselves and played a significant role in defeating the Luftwaffe while the Nazis were ravaging their native country. Jack met the love of his life who eventually left him, and met the passion of his life who disappointed him. The women he dearly loved abandoned him. He risked his life for a country that adopted him. He challenged the Luftwaffe whose fiercely skilled pilots had much in common with him. Though Jack was Polish by birth, American by choice and British by fate, he was a German in all other respects thanks to his father. Jack Meadows is a complex young hero whose contribution to the eventual Allied victory in Europe is recounted in this the first of three books on his life, his loves, and his personal victories and failures. Though Jack is a fictional character he symbolizes the countless unrecognized but deserving lads who dueled in aerial combat on both sides of the English Channel. This exciting historical novel is filled with action, drama, suspense, romance and a stream of consciousness that is relevant well into the first decade of the 21st century. War stories may be common but Jack Meadows is an uncommon warrior.
Frederick Lewis Allen was one of the pioneers in social history. Best known as the author of Only Yesterday, Allen originated a model of what is sometimes called instant history, the reconstruction of past eras through vivid commentary on the news, fashions, customs, and artifacts that altered the pace and forms of American life. The Big Change was Allen's last and most ambitious book. In it he attempted to chart and explain the progressive evolution of American life over half a century. Written at a time of unprecedented optimism and prosperity, The Big Change defines a transformative moment in American history and provides an implicit and illuminating perspective on what has taken place in the second half of the twentieth century.Allen's theme is the realization, in large measure, of the promise of democracy. As against the strain of social criticism that saw America as enfeebled by affluence and conformity, Allen wrote in praise of an economic system that had ushered in a new age of well being for the American people. He divides his inquiry into three major sections. The first, 'The Old Order,' portrays the turn-of-the-century plutocracy in which the federal government was largely subservient to business interests and the gap between rich and poor portended a real possibility of bloody rebellion. 'The Momentum of Change' graphically describes the various forces that gradually transformed the country in the new century: mass production, the automobile, the Great Depression and the coming of big government, World War II and America's emergence as a world power. Against this background, Allen shows how the economic system was reformed without being ruined, and how social gaps began to steadily close.The concluding section, 'The New America,' is a hopeful assessment of postwar American culture. Allen's analysis takes critical issue with many common perceptions, both foreign and domestic, of American life and places remaining social problems in careful perspective. As William O'Neill remarks in his introduction to this new edition, The Big Change is both a deep and wonderfully readable work of social commentary, a book that gains rather than loses with the years.
The American urban scene, and in particular New York's, has given us a rich cultural legacy of slang words and phrases, a bonanza of popular speech. Hot dog, rush hour, butter-and-egg man, gold digger, shyster, buttinsky, smart aleck, sidewalk superintendent, yellow journalism, breadline, straphanger, tar beach, the Tenderloin, the Great White Way, to do a Brodie--these are just a few of the hundreds of popular words and phrases that were born or took on new meaning in the streets of New York. In The City in Slang, Irving Lewis Allen traces this flowering of popular expressions that accompanied the emergence of the New York metropolis from the early nineteenth century down to the present. This unique account of the cultural and social history of America's greatest city provides in effect a lexicon of popular speech about city life. With many stories Allen shows how this vocabulary arose from city streets, often interplaying with vaudeville, radio, movies, comics, and the popular songs of Tin Pan Alley. Some terms of great pertinence to city people today have unexpectedly old pedigrees. Rush hour was coined by 1890, for instance, and rubberneck dates to the late 1890s and became popular in New York to describe the busloads of tourists who craned their necks to see the tall buildings and the sights of the Bowery and Chinatown. The Big Apple itself (since 1971 the official nickname of New York) appeared in the 1920s, though first in reference to the city's top racetracks and to Broadway bookings as pinnacles of professional endeavor. Allen also tells fascinating stories behind once-popular slang that is no longer in use. Spielers, for example, were the little girls in tenement districts who danced ecstatically on the sidewalks to the music of the hurdy-gurdy men and, when they were old enough, frequented the dance halls of the Lower East Side. Following the trail of these words and phrases into the city's East Side, West Side, and all around the town, from Harlem to Wall Street, and into the haunts of its high and low life, The City in Slang is a fascinating look at the rich cultural heritage of language about city life.
“On the Eighth Day, God Created a Marine” is one man’s struggle to keep his family together despite numerous tragic events. It also highlights the conflict career military members have when they must choose between family and service.
Your work as a pastor can make it easy to overlook the deep needs of your own soul. These 43 questions and answers, written to reflect the format of historic catechisms, seek to provide nourishment for weary pastors in the thick of ministry. Each chapter features content designed to care for your spiritual health, feeding your mind and heart with life-giving truth aimed at helping you press on in ministry with endurance, contentment, and joy.
The Service addresses many of our Country's contemporary problems such as how to improve our Medical, Educational, Legal, and Electoral systems. The book is written as a compilation of short stories that graphically illustrate ideas and concepts that offer solutions to our Economic, Social, and Political difficulties. Following each short story are Authors notes that further explain the ideas and concepts. The stories build on one another so that at the conclusion of this book the reader is left with a clear idea of how we can work together to make this Country a better place to live.
There are two geometries in the world—the geometry of Jehovah God, and the geometry of the devil. Jehovah god represents the Aaronic priesthood (Renewing of the holy ghost) and the devil represents the mystery of Babylon. (God of forces) The Inkhorn compares these geometries and applies scripture to what we see in the world today. It answers the age-old question regarding why our ancestors built pyramids in exact alignment to the stars and worshipped the sun and moon gods in a hierarchical structure. It will be revealed that this was due to the mystery of Babylon. (Hierarchy of the angels) The body of Jesus Christ, and the holy ghost, and the body of Satan and the cosmic sorceries of the universe (The spirit of Antichrist) are two hierarchies in the world that we must understand. With this understanding, we can explore future prophecies to come, which challenge the false teachings in Christian eschatology. You can learn more about the inkhorn and see a sneak preview of the book by visiting the authors website at www.theinkhornbook.com
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