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History for the Inquisitive Reader
Fiction gave me an appreciation for a time before my own, a world my imagination alone could not understand. It was fiction that gave me a thirst to know more about the people, the era, the circumstances beyond my experience. Why did Dorothy's grandparents live in such dismal conditions? Only in recent years did the historical period answer the question for me. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird explained more about racial injustice than anything I learned in school.
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Fiction drew me into an appreciation for a time before my own, a world my imagination alone could not understand. It was fiction that gave me a thirst to know more about the people, the era, the circumstances beyond my experience. Why did Dorothy's grandparents live in such dismal conditions? Only in recent years did the historical period answer the question for me. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird explained more about racial injustice than anything I learned in school.
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Warning:
This blog is destined to become an eclectic collection of posts ranging from a serious look at how the Depression shaped the attitudes of more than one generation to the sublime ruminations of radical changes in women's fashion. Bloomers to Flappers? What were we thinking?
I'll be time traveling where interests lead me. That translates to a fluid structure which allows book reviews of fiction and non-fiction, classic and modern. In plain speech: This blog is not for avid history buffs, but the non-academic who likes to learn stuff. While my current interests are drawn to the 1920s and 1930s, I may step backward or forward in time in search for root causes of events. Roots spread wide.
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Please join me!
Jan Karol Tanaka
While researching my current novel set in 1932, I was impressed by the number of significant events that transpired in the decade of the 1930s. That's why I started this blog to share my discoveries with generations who might never understand the sacrifices and inconceivable trials of those who endured and overcame those hardships. I invite you to join me as we learn and laugh from stories that have shaped our present.