Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, not...
Here's Atomic Cafe from 1982,
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Yes! That's a great film.
ReplyDeleteInteresting -- in that Times article, it notes that Obama has hosted a screening of one of the atomic bomb films at the White House. We need more of that.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Gary Wills book on the bomb. I read Gary Wills books regularly and will see if Kindle has it and download a sample and let you know if I end up buying it.
ReplyDeleteRobert, this is a really interesting book -- one that you will probably enjoy. Although the focus is on the bomb, it is basically a presidential history. Fascinating material. And highly readable (I have a hard time reading Wills).
ReplyDeleteI just looked up Bomb Power on Amazon and so far it's not available for kindle. I clicked the "I'd Like to Read on Kindle," but am not expecting much.
ReplyDeleteHow about Dylan? Hopefully you can join us Marti.
ReplyDeleteI think the Dylan book is available for Kindle -- quite overpriced for an ebook, but available. I'll sit this one out. I have a lot in my TBR pile (always will, but when you're reading something that grabs me, I join you). Thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me that about a year ago, Bob Dylan was stopped by the police in my hometown (Long Branch, NJ). Asked him for I.D. Seems typical for the police there to stop anyone for any reason.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/bob_dylan_stopped_by_long_bran.html
Sounds like the makings of a song to me!
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