Tuesday 8 March 2016

Devouring Books: One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson


Of the books I read in February, the only one I really wanted to talk about was One Summer. Reading this book is a way bigger commitment than I had realised- I only had the kindle copy (I assume it was a daily deal at some point) and so starting it wasn't a problem until I realised the 'percentage read' counter crept up so. Slowly. What. Even. Is. This? Perusals through amazon revealed that I'd inadvertently agreed to read a 672 page book without realising it, so when it ended less than 80% of the way through (soooooo much bibliography, soooooo much index), whilst I could have read so much more, I was almost slightly relieved.

It's just... It's a whole lot of non-fiction and I wanted to move on with my life, yeah?

So. This book pretty much does what it says on the tin. It's basically a chronicle of the summer of 1927, a summer which, I'd like to say, is not one that we necessarily think of as historical (all the years between WWI and WWII are kind of murky to me) but in which a lot of stuff happened all the same. And my, the stuff that happened! I'm of the personal opinion that Bryson pretty much wanted to write a book about Charles Lindbergh/the race to fly from New York to Paris, AND wanted to write about the Yankees and their amazing season (since these are the two main events he returns to) and realised they happened at the same time so combined everything into one book.

And weirdly, it works. Working chronologically through the summer, Bryson finely details every event that gripped America, in a time before TV and at the very beginning of talkies, when events COULD transfix a whole nation in a way that, because the internet especially allows you to consume whatever you want and ignore everything else, I don't really think can happen anymore. Because this is Bryson, everything is awesomely written, often with little tongue-in-cheek moments that Bill always provides, for example on the French attitude to Americans at the time: "Patrons of many pavement cafes were assaulted and in some cases savagely beaten just for looking intolerably bourgeois", and his especially savage take on Herbert Hoover: "Two things accounted for Hoover's glorious reputation: he executed his duties with tireless efficiency and dispatch, and he made sure that no one anywhere was ever unaware of his accomplishments."

I just... God I love Bryson.  

And Bryson is really what makes this book, just like all of his books, really dynamic and interesting and exciting. I didn't know I wanted to know about baseball until Bryson wrote about it, nor about boxing, or baseball, or so many of the things the book covers that I now know 100% more about. I feel better informed about America in the 1920s, but also like I've been entertained the whole way through. Whilst this book focuses pretty much exclusively on America at the time (see: the title), I think the format is a really exciting one because you could easily apply it to Britain's summer of 1927, or even any other year and still get a book as rich and informative and excellent as this one.

I lied when I said I was relieved the book finished early. I was kind of sad, as I always am to leave Bryson's writing. This one has done nothing to quell my love for the man, and I recommend it to anyone who has any interest in anything ever. This will make you care about things you never thought you would, and even if it doesn't then it will make you laugh in public, which I think is something we can all get on board with.

12 comments:

  1. I really want to read this! I love things that make me care about stuff that I didn't think I was interested in (I've realised recently that I can end up being interested in almost anything, I just need someone who is enthusiastic about whatever it is to guide me through it a bit at first!), and Bryson's writing always makes me happy.

    I have the same reaction sometimes when reading on my kindle and a book is much longer than I thought, especially if it's non-fiction, because although I do enjoy non-fiction most of the time, I don't lose myself in it like I do with fiction so I tend to go through books slower.

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    1. I can COMPLETELY be interested in anything as long as it's presented in the right way! I mean, I still don't really care about baseball? But I cared while Bryson was talking about it!

      Deffffinitely the slower non-fiction thing. And I like to know when I'm nearing the end of it because I get to feel all achievement-y, like yes, I have learnt THIS many facts.

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  2. I need to read more Bryson. I completed his title on Shakespeare, which I remember enjoying, and attempted At Home, but never finished. This one doesn't necessarily sound too interesting to me for so many reasons, but I love the little examples you included about the various topics. I know that when I see it I'll probably think of you. :)

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    1. Oh man, his Shakespeare book is so good, I can't even. I quoted from it EXTENSIVELY in one of the essays I wrote last year (mainly cause I didn't want to read another Shakespeare bio and it fully related to my point). Anyway. This is really interesting Beth, what are you talking about?! I didn't think I cared about aviators or baseball either, but I did during this book! (Although the chapters on writers and Hollywood definitely did more for me haha)

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  3. We've been reading a lot of the same books this year! Just finished One Summer last month. I had the same experience - downloaded the Kindle version, flipped the first couple of pages, and then it slowly dawned on me that I had just taken on another brick of a book! I LOVE Bill Bryson, but the density of nonfiction made my eyes glaze over at more than a few instances. Fortunately, those spells are quickly broken by the absurd or silly remarks that Bryson sneaks in frequently. I now know really random things about Babe Ruth and transatlantic flights thanks to the man!

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    1. OMG are we book stalking each other? I think we might be. I tried to read this... I think the summer before last maaaaybe and the sheer length of it put me off for, apparently, 18 months! But still, it was definitely worth it, even though it was so many worrrrds haha

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  4. Not REALLY understanding how long a book is is the most frustrating part of ebooks. I heart Bryson and had anyone else written this, I'm sure I would have found it so so boring.

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    1. I normally don't even mind and want my ebooks to be longer, but this was just sooooo long and whyyyyy did you say there was 20% left, book? Why?! And, I mean, yeah dude. There's no way I would have picked this up if Bryson hadn't written it so that's a prejudice I should get over haha

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    2. I like reading long books as ebooks when I KNOW it's going to be long, but I don't typically check the length before purchasing and yeah. Whoops.

      One of the books I recently read said I was at like 62% when suddenly BOOK OVER. So much bibliography and annotations. That little counter needs to be recalibrated to be like "Total pages vs. Total pages that are actually part of the book you read and does not count supplemental stuff"

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    3. WTF 62% is just taking the piss! It's especially annoying because the kindle KNOWS when it (un?)officially ends because it sends up the 'rate this book!' thing and I'm like 'oh, so you could have warned me about this earlier? THANKS A LOT'. God, Kindles are such dicks haha

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  5. I've had this book for a long time now. Charlotte bought me this and also a much smaller book for my birthday a few years ago now, and I of course read the smaller book and ignored this one. I do see it looking at me every so often and I do WANT to read it, but like you say, it's going to take up a large portion of my reading life for a while. And, you know, HEAVY.

    I really like Bill Bryson though, so I'm super glad you liked it. Maybe I'll finally pick it up now I know it'll be worth it :)

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