ALA Booklist (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

What happened in 1919? This book features significant events in that surprisingly turbulent year. Boston's deadly Great Molasses Flood destroyed many lives and structures, but it prompted cities to enforce stricter building codes. Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. White activists unleashed the Red Summer of race riots and lynchings across the country. Triggered by fear of Communists, the Red Scare fostered distrust of immigrants and abuses of power. A series of union-led strikes met with brutal resistance. And Prohibition began. This large-format book provides background information on each topic, explains what happened, and illustrates the clear, cogent text with many well-chosen archival photos. The chapters conclude with a reflective "One Hundred Years Later" sections, linking historical topics with today's world. While many draw pertinent parallels, a few sections stretch the concept rather far, presenting current issues such as climate change. The two-page articles on subjects such as the Harlem Renaissance, Billy Sunday, and opposition to women's suffrage offer succinct, useful sidelights on the period. An intriguing look back at America in 1919.

Kirkus Reviews

The year 1919 was a significant one in 20th-century American history.Sandler draws on a wide range of resources to present some of the most compelling news stories of a banner year. In Boston, a huge tank of molasses exploded, sending a lethal flood of syrup across an area largely occupied by impoverished immigrants. Both soldiers just returned from the Great War and those who'd patriotically served on the homefront discovered that there'd be few jobs for them—most of those at wages insufficient to support families—leading to numerous strikes. Reacting to intolerable repression, black Americans struck back at white abuses in a series of violent racial conflicts (described as "riots") that rocked both urban and rural communities. The U.S. attorney general pushed back against a perceived "Red Scare" of communist agitators, leading to mass imprisonments and deportations that reflected more a growing sense of anti-immigrant prejudice than any actual danger. Women were campaigning to achieve voting rights, and Prohibition was instituted. Each chapter attempts to relate that section's issue to modern problems, in one case tenuously drawing a connection between labor unrest and climate change. Sandler's prose is vigorous, impassioned, and carefully contextualized. If some of his choices seem odd (he fully reports the Molasses Flood, a regional story, while the massive international influenza epidemic of the era receives scant coverage), it's nevertheless a fascinating story, augmented by numerous attractive archival images.An entertaining and instructive look at a tumultuous year. (further reading, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 11-16)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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.)

School Library Journal (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

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