The Last Days of Innocence

America at War, 1917-1918

By: Meirion Harries, Susie Harries

Narrated by: Patrick Cullen

In just a few years early in the 20th century, the federal government grew from one tiny cog in the machinery of American life into a colossus, controlling the behavior of every individual. Paranoia, suspicion, and hatred of foreigners took hold, forming the mind-set with which the nation made its first acquaintance with communism in 1918. It was a seminal period in the history of the United States and the world, but the American side of the story has remained largely untold.

The Great War was the gateway through which our ancestors passed from the relative innocence of the nineteenth century into our own troubled, uncertain age. The Last Days of Innocence explores this huge mobilization during America's nineteen months of war with Germany in 1917 and 1918, including its corrosive effects on daily life at home.

©1997 Meirion and Susie Harries (P)1999 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A lively and persuasive history of America's experience in WWI....A sad, gripping account of one of the defining moments in our history." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Patrick Cullen's interest in this story of American involvement in the Great War can be felt in his careful, expressive narration....Readers who choose this book to be informed will find a pleasant, often poetic, experience." (AudioFile)

"Cullen reads in an American voice, even but involved, absorbing to listeners who like political history and documentaries. Superb social history, well integrated with political and military history." (Kliatt)

lively history

The Last Days of Innocence was a revelation and I am pleased I listened to it. In addition to being a window on an age, it provided pertinent background explaining why Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the Progressivism he purported to represent, failed to realize the hopes that it inspired.