1920: THE YEAR OF SIX PRESIDENTS

The presidential election of 1920 found itself with six major candidates who had seen or would eventually see the Oval Office: Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Warren Harding, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Calvin Coolidge. The author blends the men's biographies and their milieus into a complex and satisfying look at the nation’s past. Chaotic upheavals in labor, business, and finance overshadowed the birth of jazz, the prohibition of alcohol, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Narrator Paul Boehmer involves himself and listeners by employing subtle emotions. One can hear appropriate inflections—sadness, joy, and petulance—in his words. His sentences flow into a comfortable narrative that sometimes includes poetry. Not resorting to any vocal characterization, he distinguishes the quotations with short pauses. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2010]