Since Yesterday

The 1930s in America

By: Frederick Lewis Allen

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

In this panorama, subtitled The 1930s in America, Frederick Lewis Allen combines an eye for the significant trivia of everyday existence with a facility for neatly dissecting the political monoliths of the era. Whether discussing the varieties of bathtub gin or elucidating Keynesian economics, Allen displays, in the words of Edward Weeks of The Atlantic, "a talent for terse and telling resume which is the envy of any historian."©1939 Frederick Lewis Allen (P)1994 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Mr. Allen's shining service is to recall the things that have blurred equally with those that have stuck in memory. No one else does this sort of thing so well....Somehow it conveys the impression of the American people telling their own story in autobiographical form." (The New York Times)

Great time capsule of life in the great depression

I was recommended this after listing to the libertarian slanted "The Forgotten Man" by Amity Schlaes. I disliked her book immensely as I dislike and distrust any book that cherry-picks facts to try and convice the reader/listener of a certain point.

This book was a breath of fresh air as it was written shortly after the 30's finished, and before the beginning of WW2. As such you get a perspective of a citizen during the 1930's. It doesn't seem to have a drum to beat; presenting ideas without a seeming bent.

The problem is with the recording. The narrator is decent, but the recording was of uneven quality, and would repeat sentences often, around every 15-30 minutes. It is disorienting as I wondered if I have let my mind drift, but I hadn't...and having the repetitions only served to remove me from the narrative. What is stranger is that some repetitions were of differing quality than the first.

I returned this as I couldn't get past the poor quality recording and repetitions. I'll read the book.

The 1930's - A Decade With Much to Teach Us

Excellent story covers most of the key events and cultural changes of the decade leading up to WWII. Good narration though audio repeated in spots, and the chapters indicated on the display didn't match up with the audio.

1930s AMERICA

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, only if they were history lovers. This book is amazing as far as how much information is in here.

What other book might you compare Since Yesterday to and why?

I'm reading his second book about the 1920s, does that count?

What does Christopher Lane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

To tell you the truth I wasn't crazy about him. He didn't have any inflection in his voice. He basically sounded like a machine.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me think about how people complain today, and if they only knew...

Any additional comments?

FDR, DIDN'T SURPRISE ME 😑

Great Content - Robotic Narration

This is a contemporary history of the 1930's that is quite comprehensive. A great source for information on one of the most important decades of the 20th century.

I'm not impressed with the narration. It is horribly robotic, almost sounding like a computer is reading it. The narrator has no inflection, not life in the narration. It would have been much better if Grover Garner would have read it like the companion volume "Only Yesterday".

Riveting and Insightful

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Since Yesterday and it’s predecessor, Only Yesterday. I regret that the two tales have ended and look forward to reading more of Frederick Lewis Allen as well as reading The War of the Worlds from 1938. The only issue I had with this audiobook was the occasional and brief repetition of certain sections. I could easily ignore that problem, especially as I was cleaning and painting while listening to this audiobook.

A Solid View of 1930s America

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. It does a relatively good job of capturing the culture and conditions of the American experience of the 1930s. If you are interested in an overview of that era, this book provides a lot of useful information of what it would have been like to live and work (or be unemployed) in the country during that difficult time period.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This is a nonfiction work that analyzes news and events from the 1930s which shaped American culture during that time frame.

What aspect of Christopher Lane’s performance would you have changed?

The narrator's reading was fine, but the technical aspects of how this was edited have much to be desired. Portions of the narration frequently repeat because of sloppy editing. I am guessing that producers have gone back and re-edited this at points, and their efforts to insert updated portions contain numerous errors. The narrator will read an entire paragraph, then the audio compression will change and become hissy, then you'll hear the narrator read a the same paragraph over again before moving on to new content. This happens probably on 10 or more occasions across the duration of the book. Some portions of the narration are tinny and filled with annoying hiss, while the remainder of the audio is acceptable. It is, hands down, the worst edited audiobook I've ever listened to. That said, the information was, for the most part, interesting and provided perspectives of American life in the 1930s of which I was previously unaware.

Was Since Yesterday worth the listening time?

Yes, though it focused more on politics than I cared for. I was more interested in cultural aspects of the time period, but since politics drives culture I suppose this was okay. Earlier parts of the book talk about music of the era, clothing styles, slang, social mores, and how those things shifted from the late 1920s through the 1930s. I wish that the book would have included more of this type of information, but about halfway through it changes emphasis and mostly discusses the politics of the decade with a heavy emphasis on Roosevelt's political agenda, his fights with congress, his major political opponents, why they hated him, laws that worked and ones that failed, etc. The last chapter, naturally, shifts to the looming cloud of WWII and how Americans, whom had not given much notice to Europe during the rise of fascism and Naziism, began paying attention to the aggressive expansionism happening in Europe and Asia as worries of another major war began to manifest.

Any additional comments?

Overall I enjoyed the audiobook and would recommend it for anyone interested in an overview of what America was going through during this challenging decade of the country's past.

very good - highly recommend

This is the best account I have ever read (listened to on audio book) on the Great Depression- before, during, and after. Covers political, social, and financial implications. Very easy to read.

Since Yesterday

loved it will share this book with others great perspective as it relates to today

Hey, quality control person

When the reader stops & restarts, he begins again repeating one sentence back, not deleted.

Depression Life in the 30’s.

Such an interesting listen when written so shortly after the decade ended. Really shows how different and divided a country can be by geography and situation. Only gets a little dry with depression economic statistics. But overall it gives you an amazing insight to music, race, politics and peoples thought process. Allen’s book about the 20’s in a better book with a lot more insights. I recommend both books.