The First Measured Century : An Illustrated Guide to Trends in America, 1900-2000

Rating:
Summary: Fun to Read!
Review: This is a very fun book to read, especially if you have "conventional" opinions about things. I say this because some of the topics covered reveal surprisingly unexpected trends. This is not a serious work and is not suitable for serious research per se, but it has good foot-notes and sources so its topics could be researched further if the reader is so inclined.

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Summary: The American twentieth century in numbers
Review: This is an outstanding work that measures the changes in American social reality over the past century. From 76 million to 275 million citizens , from a largely rural country to an urban highly- industrialized one, from a country in which a high- school education was had by six percent only to one in which high- school education was had by eighty- three percent. Life -expectancy increased during this period twenty-six years for males and twenty- nine for females. The quality of life, in education, in health, increased enormously. The number of working hours and days declined, and the women's participation in the work- force increased enormously. Overall fertility declined through the century with the exception of the baby- boom years. Cohabitation before marriage which was nonexistent in 1900 became the rule in 2000. And in another disturbing trend for many Americans the rate of children born out of wedlock increased greatly to be now over twenty- five percent. Crime of all kinds also increased considerably though there has been leveling off in many areas since the eighties. Prosperity as measured by living space, by opportunities and time for leisure have also gone way up.
The overall picture given despite many negative trends is that the twentieth century was one of enormous progress and development for America. This of course was the century when it was a major factor in two world - wars, and in defeating the evils of Nazism and Fascism.
As the century ended America was the world's sole superpower and its leader politically, militarily and culturally.
This book is a wealth of information about developments over the century and it is highly recommeded.

Rating:
Summary: Fairly pedestrian stuff
Review: This is simply a statistical report of the twentieth century and not terribly compelling in the choice of data. The title and concept of the book are fascinating, but the substance leaves something to be desired. I think the authors could have chosen much more compelling statistics to present and discuss. The book reads like what it probably was, a quick adaptation from a successful public television program.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: This is the kind of book that you can open to any page, and you will find something that intrigues you. A half-hour will pass, and you'll still be reading and thinking about the the trends and the meanings of the trends illustrated in the graphs. First Measured Century is a great conversation piece and a wonderful resource for writers, teachers, historians -- anyone with an interest in our country. This book is worth the investment.

Rating:
Summary: Statistics you really can learn from!
Review: This is truly a book for anyone interested in American life in the twentieth century, even those who, at first glance, would be intimidated by statistics. Each topic is presented through a page of thoughtful text about the data, and a facing page of clear, colorful charts, illustrations that can in fact stand alone. Chapters proceed in a logical order, linking interesting data on everything from population to education, government, crime, communications, business, and more. I can honestly say that I have already read this book twice in an attempt to absorb all of the fascinating information it puts forth. Moreover, there is a complete listing of sources in the "notes" section to supplement further research. This book gets an "A," and, by the inherent understanding obtained by reading, so should anyone who reads it to learn about social change.