1919 the Year That Changed America

Gr 7 Up--This readable journey through the year 1919 begins with an attention-grabbing and rather strange episode in U.S. history, the Great Molasses Flood. Each subsequent chapter follows a different large-scale event in 1919 that greatly affected the United States: Prohibition, women's suffrage, the red scare, labor strikes, and the Red Summer. At the end of each section, a "One Hundred Years Later" segment takes the historical social issue previously covered and shows how it affects contemporary society, with relatable examples included. Time lines throughout the volume demonstrate for readers how progress isn't always linear and how change can happen slowly, if at all. Filled with full-color pictures and extremely descriptive captions, students are transported in time to a period of turmoil and victory. VERDICT Well researched and presented in an attractive manner, Sandler's text delivers a solid look at a pivotal year.--Stephanie Wilkes, Good Hope Middle School, West Monroe, LA

In six lucid chapters, Sandler (Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything) details headline-dominating events from 1919, "one of the most momentous years in the nation's history." After a riveting start devoted to a single, highly destructive incident--Boston's Great Molasses Flood, which led to building code, municipal oversight, and corporate liability precedents--Sandler proceeds to topics with a longer history, some of whose reverberations continue today: the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, widespread racial strife, waves of red scares that spread the fear of a Communist takeover, labor unrest, and the advent of Prohibition. For each subject, Sandler provides historical context, recounts the specific events of 100 years ago, and traces the impact through to the present day. He succeeds to varying degrees in making connections between women's presence in government and business, the Black Lives Matter movement, immigration, white supremacy, climate change, gun control, and public health. Even so, Sandler's narrative skill and eye for detail, and the abundant archival photos throughout, make for an engrossing resource. Further reading, sources, credits, and an index augment the text. Ages 10-14. (Jan.)