“Aperfectlygrandpieceofhistoricalrecordandsyntheticjournalism.“--ChicagoDailyTribuneFromFrederickLewisAllen,formereditor-in-chiefofHarper’smagazine,comesaclassichistoryof1920sAmerica,fromtheendofWorldWarItothestockmarketcrashandthebeginningofTheGreatDepression.Originallypublishedin1931,OnlyYesterdayhasanexuberanceandproximitytoitssubject--theRoaringTwentiesinallitsscandalandglory--thatuniquelycapturesthefeeloftheera.OnlyYesterdaydealswiththatdelightfuldecadefromtheArmisticeinNovember1918tothepanicanddepressionof1929-30.HereisthestoryofWoodrowWilson’sdefeat,theHardingscandals,theCoolidgeprosperity,therevolutioninmannersandmorals,thebullmarketanditssmash-up.Allen’slivelynarrativebringsbackanendlessvarietyofhalf-forgottenevents,fashions,crazes,andabsurdities.Deftlywritten,withahumoroustouch,OnlyYesterdaytraces,beneaththeexcitementsofday-to-daylifeinthe20s,thosecurrentsinnationallifeandthoughtwhicharetheessenceoftruehistory.
