Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties

Anexhilaratingportraitoftheeraofjazz,glamour,andgangstersfromabrightyoungstarofmainstreamhistorywriting.Theglitterof1920sAmericawasseductive,fromjazz,flappers,andwildall-nightpartiestothebirthofHollywoodandaglamorousgangster-ledcrimesceneflourishingunderProhibition.Buttheperiodwasalsopunctuatedbymomentousevents-thepoliticalshowtrialsofSaccoandVanzetti,thehugeKuKluxKlanmarchdownWashingtonDC'sPennsylvaniaAvenue-anditproducedadizzyingarrayofwriters,musicians,andfilmstars,fromF.ScottFitzgeraldtoBessieSmithandCharlieChaplin.InAnythingGoes,LucyMooreinterweavesthestoriesofthecompellingpeopleandeventsthatcharacterizedthedecadetoproduceagrippingportraitoftheJazzAge.SherevealsthattheRoaringTwentiesweremorethanjust"theyearsbetweenwars."Itwasanepochofpassionandchange-anage,sheobserves,notunlikeourown.