One Summer: America, 1927

Consider Bryson’s central cast of historical characters: Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Calvin Coolidge, Nicola Sacco, and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. To what extent are each of these characters heroes or villains? You should discuss each character, though you may want to discuss Sacco and Vanzetti together.

One Summer is largely about men, but what does the book teach us about women in 1920s America? (Think about professions, opportunities, and sexuality.)

Would you want to live in 1920s America? Why or why not? You should provide several reasons for your decision.

Out of the major characters discussed in the book, which person would you most like to meet personally? Why? (You do not have to select a main character, but it should be someone whom Bryson provides enough detail on to give you a sense of their personality and contributions.)

Bryson covers many historical events alongside his central narratives. Which minor events in the narrative (not necessarily minor historical events) would you expand on if you were tasked with writing another section of One Summer? (Hint: think about the characters that frequently come up but do not have sections dedicated to them—for example, Al Capone and organized crime, Herbert Hoover and environmental history, popular actors and the film industry, etc.). What characterized your selection in the 1920s and in 1927 specifically?

What do you think is the thesis of One Summer? In other words, what do you think Bryson sought to demonstrate or prove in writing it? Is there one central argument or theme (beyond time period) that unites each of the case studies?

Despite the excitement and drama of the narrative, the reader also sees bigotry operating regularly and at every level of society. As Bryson says, “There may never have been another time in the nation’s history when more people disliked more other people from more directions and for less reason” (359). What are the major prejudices Bryson exposes in the book? How and where did they function? How and where did they intersect?

What are the most striking similarities and what are the starkest differences between the United States of today and the one depicted in One Summer?