Pretty Bubbles in the Air: America in 1919

William Miller's absorbing chronicle of life in the year following World War I re-creates the mood of ebullience that characterized the Unites States in 1919. The country had just won the Great War, powerful new machines were readily available, and life seemed carefree. The new ways foretold the end of an era, the author believes, and the innocence and wonder that characterized that year were 'pretty bubbles' that would soon burst or drift out of reach.