The early part of the 20th century was by no means easy. Wars, famine, and revolutions were a common theme in the 1910s. However, there were also many breakthroughs to celebrate, especially in the areas of science, culture, and the arts. Here are a few books that can give you a glimpse at what happened in the 1910s in the USA and around the world.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Rich Remarque
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers’ extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Birdsong is the story of Stephen, a young Englishman, who arrives in Amiens in 1910. His life goes through a series of traumatic experiences, from the clandestine love affair that tears apart the family with whom he lives to the unprecedented experience of the war itself.
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant (Italian: tenente) in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The novel describes a love affair between the American expatriate and an English nurse, Catherine Barkley.
Peter Pan by JM Barrie
Peter Pan, a child who never grows up, visits the Darling nursery and brings the children to Neverland so that Wendy can mother the Lost Boys. Peter was once a normal child, but he ran away to Neverland so he would never have to grow up and die. He used to visit his own mother’s window and listen to stories, but after she shut it on him, he started visiting others. He takes the Darling children on adventures and saves them from pirates.
The Story of the Boy Scouts by Wyatt Blassingame
Discusses the 1910 origin and continuing growth of the Boy Scouts, relates true stories of Scouting heroism and adventure, and describes the many activities of Scouting.
Shoeless Joe & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman
Joe Stoshack travels back to 1919, where he meets Shoeless Joe Jackson and tries to prevent the fixing of the World Series in which Jackson was wrongly implicated.
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
On April 15, 1912, the magnificent ocean liner the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank beneath the icy North Atlantic seas. Hopkinson weaves together archival photographs and the voices of real Titanic survivors and witnesses to the disaster to bring the horrors of that terrible night to life. There’s nine-year-old Frankie Goldsmith; Violet Jessop, a young stewardess; Archibald Gracie, a well-to-do gentleman; Charlotte Collyer, a young mother on her way to start a new life; and others.
Jacksonville Public Library 