A would-be writer Nick Carraway leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits.

"Flappers, flag-pole sitting, and the Ford Model T--these are just a few of the things that instantly conjure up a unique era--the Roaring Twenties. It was the bees' knees, the cat's meow. If you're not familiar with 1920s slang, all the more reason to read this fascinating look at that wild, exciting decade. It began on the heels of one tragedy--the flu pandemic of 1918--and ended with another: the start of the Great Depression. But in between there...

Explores the era of unbounded optimism on Wall Street leading up to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Tells the story of how a small group of bankers, brokers and speculators manipulated the market, grew wealthy and helped create the economic boom in the decade preceding the crash. Then discover how the false promise or permanent prosperity came to an abrupt end in 1929 through the recollections of people whose families experienced the crash.

Follows the fates of five interrelated families-- American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh-- as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage. Thirteen-year-old Billy Williams enters a man's world in the Welsh mining pits. Gus Dewar finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson's White House. Brothers Grigori and Lev Peshkov embark on radically different paths when their plan...

Introduces the Great Depression, inviting readers to investigate its causes, offering insights into daily life and how the economics of the time shaped politics, and discussing Roosevelt's New Deal.