Since the 1930’s, when Ermance Rejebian began telling stories about books at Munger Place Methodist, Dallas has maintained an unusual tradition of small book review clubs. On Tuesday, February 11 at 10:30 am, Cathedral Arts is honored to present Colleen Boudreaux from the Dallas Professional Book Reviewers Association, in a lively discussion of Bill Bryson’s One Summer: America, 1927.

About the book:
On May 21, 1927, when Charles Lindbergh set off to be the first man to cross the Atlantic alone in an airplane, he profoundly changed the culture and commerce of America and its image abroad. Add to that Babe Ruth’s efforts to break the home-run record he set, Henry Ford’s retooling of the Model T into the Model A, the execution of accused anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, and Al Jolson appearing in the first talkie, and 1927 became the pivot point when the U.S. began to dominate the world in virtually everything—military, culture, commerce, and technology. Bryson’s inimitable wit and exuberance are on full display in this wide-ranging look at the major events in an exciting summer in America. Bryson makes fascinating interconnections: a quirky Chicago judge and Prohibition defender leaves the bench to become baseball commissioner following the White Sox scandal, likely leaving Chicago open for gangster Al Capone; the thrill-hungry tabloids and a growing cult of celebrity watchers dog Lindbergh’s every move and chronicle Ruth’s every peccadillo. Among the other events in a frenzied summer: record flooding of the Mississippi River and the ominous beginnings of the Great Depression. Bryson offers delicious detail and breathtaking suspense about events whose outcomes are already known. A glorious look at one summer in America. Bill Bryson is the author of such best-selling books as A Walk in the Woods (1998) and A Short History of Nearly Everything (2008). — from a review by Vanessa Bush

These second Tuesday meetings in the Justus Sundermann Gallery include a 10:30 coffee, 10:45 presentation and an optional Club Members luncheon at 11:35 ($20.00 for non-members). Please contact Andrea Foster at 214.341.3432 by Thursday, February 6 to make a lunch reservation.

Event flyer here.