America 1900: Summary and book reviews of America 1900 by Judy Crichton, plus links to an excerpt from America 1900 and a biography of Judy Crichton.

In January 1, 1900, as Americans tried to divine the future of the twentieth century, what no one could foresee was that the issues they were dealing with were much the same as those that would face their grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the year 2000. Change had come so fast that there was an almost magical belief in the powers of science and technology. The country had never been more prosperous but the disparity between rich and poor had never been greater. Slavery was dead but racism was growing. The narrative begins New Year's Day in Washington, D.C., as President McKinley shrugs off warnings that his life may be in danger. Never far from the seat of power is Theodore Roosevelt, "the coming American of the twentieth century." Throughout the year, as Crichton details one event after the other--the greatest mine disaster in American history; the banning of a salacious play; an historic election campaign; the Galveston flood; the Harvard-Yale football game; a great labor victory; the emergence of the first billion-dollar corporation--the forces of the future are moving into place.

Media Reviews

Library Journal ....offers readers a cross section of life in the United States in 1900, with due attention to the experiences of women and African Americans and intriguing snapshots of people who would gain fame in the 20th century. The result is a pleasant if not incisive overview of the nation as it stood on the verge of a new century. Readers who want an introduction to the year might well find this effort worthwhile.   Publishers Weekly Crichton's text and numerous images capture the mood of the era and smartly introduce general readers to a key epoch of the American experience.   Kirkus Reviews Crichton keeps us focused on 1900 throughout, eschewing the temptation to continually draw lessons for the future, yet it is impossible to avoid thinking about whether that year's trauma and triumph, corruption and character, would be preferable to our own. Somehow a president's sexual dalliances seem comparatively superficial. Then again, we are not yet to the year 2000. An extremely enjoyable account.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Joe
A Great Book- demonstrates how far we have come as a nation in a century- but more striking is how short we've come.

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