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When Doubleday released Peter Jennings’ The Century in 1998, the literary and journalistic world took notice. This was history that listened to the voices of those who had lived through the time and wrote their stories. A decade later, these stories have been edited to make them more readable by young people who have no appreciation for or understanding of these times.
Many of today’s children may have been lucky enough to have storytellers in their families who have passed their recollections onto the new generation. For those young people, the early twentieth century is a vast playground of family remembrances and perspectives. Jennings’ books are written for those other children who aren’t so lucky, and for the many adults who will enjoy this lighter version of the original publication.
History is the study of change, and these pages beget awareness that nothing ever stays the same. Even as technology invades the everyday lives of young people today, it is constantly changing. The analog phone would not even be recognized by young people today as a preview of their cell phone, but are able to understand the change from analog television to digital television, because they have lived through that change.
Jennings’ first volume deals with the years between 1901 – 1936, including Russian immigrants arriving in the United States through Ellis Island; Jim Crow law and African Americans; the First World War and the Great Depression. These events are discussed as seen by the people who lived them. The interviews of people who lived through these events were conducted for the original volume in 1998 but are here shortened, and introductory notes are aimed at the younger reader.
This is an excellent three-volume series for young people that makes history come alive. If even one reader becomes interested in history, especially his or her own history, the author will have done his job.
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The Century for Young People: 1901-1936: Becoming Modern America