Audiobook13 hours
America 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T, and the Making of a Modern Nation
Written by Jim Rasenberger
Narrated by James Jenner
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
Renowned historian Jim Rasenberger turns his keen eye on America at the dawn of the 20th century-a time when innovation seemed to know no bounds. "Rasenberger renders 1908 as a series of snapshots, and his camera never blinks."-Publishers Weekly
Author
Jim Rasenberger
Jim Rasenberger is the author of four books—Revolver; The Brilliant Disaster; America, 1908; and High Steel—and has contributed to the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, and other publications. A native of Washington, DC, he lives in New York City.
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Reviews for America 1908
Rating: 4.000000007894737 out of 5 stars
4/5
38 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tonight I finished a very interesting American History book; America 1908. Unlike most history books that can be overly dry and factual, author Jim Rasenberger has a talent for making history come alive! His writing is light and easy with the ability to make the historic ground-breaking events of 1908 extremely exciting.Those readers who love history, adventure, innovation, and exploration, or have a passionate interest in the progress of our country, will love this wonderful book. I never realized how important the year 1908 was until now.America 1908 highlights the incredible events of Henry Ford's creation of the Model T automobile that took the country by storm, the exciting and dangerous New York to Paris car race, the horrors of the explorers racing to be the first to discover the North Pole, Teddy Roosevelt's success with the Great White Fleet that logged in 43,000 miles in order to pave the way of creating allies for the upcoming Great War, and lastly the feature event of the year, the Wright brothers sensational conquering of the air claiming fame with their first record-breaking flights! From Kitty Hawk North Carolina all the way to France, they were the heroes of 1908!Although I read this is sections in between other novels, I found this book simply riveting and a page turner. To learn how our country evolved due to the actions of the leaders and forerunners of the era was eye-opening and fascinating! Five Stars!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Being a panoramic look at one of America's more interesting ragtime years, 1908. The author does a good job of keeping a lot of balls in the air; major themes include the voyage of the Great White Fleet, Theodore Roosevelt, basebal's Merkle game, the Wright Brothers, polar exploration, and the New York-Paris auto race. Rasenberger has a good ear for the telling anecdote and contemporary sources which will bring the year's zeitgeist alive. This book was both informative and entertaining.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book came out in 2008 as a "One Century Later!" kind of book. But it's still good in 2014The author is a teriffic story teller and he has some great stories to tell.We celebrate 1903 as the year of the Wright Brothers first flight but forget that the 1903 Flyer could only fly straight lines and could (barely) achieve level flight. It was the 1908 Flyer that figured out wing warping and could comfortably fly figure 8's and bank and swoop. It was the 1908 Flyer that secured the Wrights' claim to "the first practical airplane" 1908 was also the year of the first New York to Paris road race for cars. How do you get from New York to Paris in a car? Easy! Drive up to Alaska and go over on the frozen ice of the Bering Strait. (NOT!)America was still - pre World War I - the new kid in international affairs and our author tells the story of the Great White Fleet that sailed around the world and basically threw America's hat in the ring and made people take the young country more seriously. And the great story of "Merkle's Boner" in the 1908 World's Series and generally how baseball was played and reported back in the day.Great book for dipping into and flipping through - or reading straight through. A lot of fun. A lot to think about.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My kind of book. The kind I like to read and the kind I wish I could write. Rasenberger does a good job of weaving together the interesting story lines of 100 years ago. You can see the beginning of the modern as he tells his tales. Nicely done!