I just finished my first online book. "The Age of Invention" published in 1921 by "College of the City of NewYork." it was a very good summary of the white males who invented the basics of American industry: Ben Franklin; Eli Whitney, including the assembly line; looms; steam power; Edison and electricity, etc. I say "white males" because in the last 90 yrs we have learned of some women and people of color who had a hand in some of industries' inventions who were not acknowledged at the time the book was written. On the other hand, I have decided that we, women in particular, should celebrate Tho Edison's birthday. Imagine how hard people worked and in dim candle or oil lamp light before electricity came to their street.
The irony was that for a long time electricity and the appliances that followed didn't shorten women's work day because the standards got higher! Women's magazines, growing in popularity at about the same time as the new appliances told women clothes had to be washed more often, dust was unacceptable, bed linens had to changed weekly unsteady of monthly? Or seasonally? More complex recipes had to be prepared. Etc etc. My children and my husband have both at times been appalled that I might wear the same piececof clothing two days in a row...regardless of how spotless it might still be......lol, and so it goes.
I've started another online book , An American Idyll, By Cornelia Parker, whose husband, an economist in the early 20th century sounds like he was reincarnated into Robt Reich, Sec of Labor for Clinton. He died in his 30's and she writes of their marriage. It begins as an ideal graduate school couple at Harvard and in Germany and then moves to UCSB. I think they end up at one of the east coast ivy league schools. They have 2 small children during their grad school days and seem to have a less parenting the better philosophy. They, of course, did have help while in Germany, but didn't seem to spend much time at home. That part was a romp thru G, fun w/other students, eating on 35 cents a meal, etc. A fun read, not a lot of substance, but she does comment about what might be happening to their G friends as she writes the book in 1919.
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