Way Our People Lived : An Intimate American History

by William E. Woodward

Book by Woodward, William E.

Genres: History

390 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1968

About the author

aka W. E. Woodward

1874-1950

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully rendered and engaging history told entirely in the style of historical fiction. With plots, dialogue, and vivid descriptions, the author takes known facts about places, people, and events and adds sufficient unknowable-but-plausible descriptive detail to engage the reader's imagination. Each of the eleven chapters is a different location and different time in history, from 1652 Boston to 1908 New York. One chapter, set in 1880s South Carolina, is written entirely from the author's personal experience.
An unintended additional feature of this book is that it offers the modern reader a glimpse into the opinions and ideas of the age - and of this author -regarding race and the role of women in society. I found it a doubly educational and entertaining read.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know about "day in the life" histories before I encountered this book. It opened up history in a whole new way for me. There might be better books in this style and covering these time periods, but this one was special being my first.

[Barbara Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family visited Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts when I was in high school. That experience, of living history with all my senses, completely captivated me, and it had a direct impact on my desire to earn degrees in American Studies and English when I went to college.

"The Way Our People Lived" was one of two books I purchased that day in Sturbridge Village, and I've kept them both all these years. With the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution approaching, I decided to reread them.

"The Way Our People Lived" is a vivid collection of eleven stories about individuals at critical moments in time: A cabinetmaker seeks employment in 1650s Boston. A woman who owns a dairy farm in 1836 New York travels by wagon bus, train, and canal boat to visit her daughter in Ohio. A young man keeps a diary of his journey from Memphis to the California Gold Rush in 1849. A dinner party among newly reunited colleagues is forever changed by the Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871. And more.

Each of these stories offers a personal glimpse into a specific moment in time. But they also encompass the broad American landscape of what people of different classes and locations were eating and drinking, what they wore, how they worked and relaxed, inventions, customs, communication, and communities. Fascinating!

[Derek Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun approach that quickly becomes wearing. Probably one chapter at a time is sufficient. The descriptions of clothing (and many other objects) could have been skipped with a few illustrations.