For a year the headlines bore unbelievable stories. A president who's failing health was being hidden from the American people. A contentious election that would decide the path of America for decades. A Republican candidate, accused of bigotry and marital infidelities, who was almost killed during the summer before the election. Attempts to arrest and jail a presidential candidate. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Russia on the move. An East Asian power expanding its influence. Violence against Jews. A Netanyahu pushing pro-Jewish sentiment in the Holy Land. Race riots in America and civil disturbances in Ireland. An attempt to storm the Capitol. The world economy struggling over tariff wars. A post-pandemic environment in which millions had died. Immigration concerns along the American border. Debates over science and the role of religion in the public sphere. Concerns about changing climates. Fights over book censorship in public school libraries. This was not the 2020s, but 1919-1920. A century before similar events unfolded around the earth, the planet had already experienced a vastly similar series of occurrences.
This book not only documents the interesting history of a time period that mirrored the modern world but also shows how the period immediately after WWI would lay the groundwork for most of the major historical events to follow. From the Great Depression, to WWII, to the Cold War, to the rise of Communist China, to modern day conflicts in the Middle East, to the Civil Rights Movement, and onwards to issues of race, gender, and political ideology, the years 1919-1920 saw their origins. While social media explodes with fear and disbelief, many of us realize that we've, "seen this movie before". At once a global history and a cautionary tale, 1919-1920 shows that what often feels unprecedented in our own time is part of a longer historical cycle.
