A time when anything seemed possible
Decades after its release in 1975, James Gray’s trademark energetic prose pulsates with the essence of this flamboyant era when idealism ran rampant across the prairies. Gray captures the:
- Political frustrations of the farmers and the resulting turbulent Progressive movement and the resulting Wheat Pools
- Radical idealism of the One Big Union, born after the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919
- Gambling fever that struck not only Western Canadians, but all North Americans, spawned by those who put their paychecks in football pools, horse races, and the spectacular ups and downs of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange
- Social and religious movements such as the birth of the United Church and the Ku Klux Klan.
James Gray has written of an exciting and flamboyant era, a time never to be forgotten.
Reviews:
"Gray knew that the period known variously as the Jazz Age, the Bootleg Age, and the Prohibition Age was above all the Age of Great Stories ... it is one of his very best books."
-- from the foreword by Brian Brennan
"[James Gray writes with] wit, intelligence, and a careful attention to fascinating detail."
-- Doug Fetherling, Saturday Night
"Rumours abound that The Roar of the Twenties will be his last major work. But if James Gray keeps on loving his people, he'll keep on writing their history, and we'll all be richer for it."
-- David Bercuson, The Canadian Historical Review
"Gray's prose is lucid and easy to read. His style is relaxed. The book is full of interesting facts, surprising insights and amusing anecdotes. . . Those that enjoy this genre will find The Roar of the Twenties an interesting and fun read."
-- The Lethbridge Herald
James Gray, one of western Canada’s finest social historians, was born in Whitemouth, Manitoba, in 1906. We worked for the Winnipeg Free Press for many years and went on to edit several other publications. In 1947, he relocated to Calgary, where he worked with the Home Oil Company for twenty years before retiring to embark on a new career as a historian. He passed away on 12 November 1998 in Calgary at the age of ninety-two.
During his life, Gray received numerous awards, including the Alberta Order of Excellence (1987), the Order of Canada (1988), and the Pierre Berton Award for “distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history” (1995). Gray also penned a rich legacy of award-winning and best selling books, including The Boy from Winnipeg, Men Against the Desert, The Winter Years, Booze, and Red Lights on the Prairies.
Part of The Western Canadian Classics Series
The Western Canadian Classics series is designed to keep the best western Canadian history, biography, and memoirs available in attractive and affordable editions. These popular and best-selling books are selected for their quality, enduring appeal, and importance to an understanding of our past.
Click here to see a photo of the typewriter that James Gray used to write his books.
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