The 20th Century Day by Day - Hardcover

"European arms race and war talk grow" (March 1914). "22,000 Nazis hold rally in New York" (February 1939). "Vietnam Reds launch Tet offensive" (January 1968). "First NATO air attack over Bosnia" (February 1994). The 20th Century Day by Day tells the history of that belligerent period in the form of modern newspaper articles. Though at times it seems that the 20th century was constantly racked by war, the entries in this weighty tome cover everything from military history, political changes, and scientific discoveries to cultural milestones and obituary notices. For example, headlines from May 1954 include "Dien Bien Phu falls to Communists," "High court orders school integration," "Bannister is first to break 4-minute mile," and "Giant Brain foreshadows electronic office":

Development of an "electronic brain" designed specifically for business use was announced today by the International Business Machines Corp. Capable of performing more than ten million operations an hour, the new device brings the all-electronic office closer to reality, the company said.

This lavishly illustrated book is difficult to put down--not surprising, when each turn of the page reveals gems such as "Model T ready to roll" (August 1908), "Empire State Building is world's tallest" (May 1931), "Ingrid Bergman says she's no saint" (August 1949), "Sinatra and Mia are wed; go to London" (July 1966), and "Pompidou Center: factory or museum?" (February 1977). Some of the stories rely heavily on foreshadowing or are reported in a rather coy tone: "Nelson Rockefeller meets unusual end" ("...there were reports he died in the arms of a young, female friend while supposedly working on a book on art, one of his favorite subjects"). That said, The 20th Century Day by Day is a beautiful book, perfect for browsing, that will thrill any history buff. --Sunny Delaney

These large references books both cover 20th-century history and culture, and while the editors seem to agree that history is primarily the sum of small events, the results differ significantly. American Chronicle, which merely adds six years of coverage to the authors' earlier Columbia Chronicles of American Life, 1910-1992 (Columbia Univ., 1995), provides annual summaries. A hybrid mix furnishes almanac-like facts (e.g., yearly sport champions, arts and sciences award winners) and unofficial pop-cultural milestones, selected and presented in an arbitrary and informal way. For instance, advertisements appear to have been chosen because they seemed clever rather than representative of a given year. While certain entries summarizing listings of TV and arts premieres offer useful information, others, such as the annual digests of fashion trends, are quite haphazard and almost tongue-in-cheek. Despite the occasional black-and-white photo, the book's layout is uninspired. While it re-creates the sense of each year from 1910 through 1998, it falls short of being useful for anything but trivia. With its bright color graphics and its daily diary format, 20th Century Day by Day immediately appears to be a different sort of book. The dates covered fall into two categories: briefly noted items appear in columnar form, while major events receive several paragraphs, often accompanied by wonderful visuals. The writing is clear and, in the longer entries, usually provides broader context for events that receive focus. Unfortunately, while arrows sometimes direct readers to subsequent events, no notations direct readers to events leading up to a particular day, making it difficult to gain a balanced historical sense of cause and effect for each day's events. Still, the book, which extends through April 1993, offers a lively summary useful for both reference and browsing.
-Charles K. Piehl, Mankato State Univ., MN
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.