Summary of Walter Lord's The Good Years

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The new century did not begin until 1901, so the Witts were a year too early. But the idea that 1900 was a milestone, a time to relish past accomplishments and thrill to the promise of the future, was widespread.

#2 The country was experiencing good times in 1899. The Portland Oregonian called 1899 the most prosperous year Oregon has ever known. The Cheyenne Sun-Leader agreed: Never has a year been ushered in with more promise.

#3 The new century was full of miracles, endless prosperity, and simple pleasures. Everything was so simple that it was almost impossible to not be optimistic and confident.

#4 The new century was predicted to be different by many people. Some saw a nation-wide network of trolley car lines, while others saw a pedestrian’s paradise. Only a few great men refused to peer into the crystal ball.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822519251

IRB Media

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Insights on Walter Lord's The Good Years

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The new century did not begin until 1901, so the Witts were a year too early. But the idea that 1900 was a milestone, a time to relish past accomplishments and thrill to the promise of the future, was widespread.

#2

The country was experiencing good times in 1899. The Portland Oregonian called 1899 the most prosperous year Oregon has ever known. The Cheyenne Sun-Leader agreed: Never has a year been ushered in with more promise.

#3

The new century was full of miracles, endless prosperity, and simple pleasures. Everything was so simple that it was almost impossible to not be optimistic and confident.

#4

The new century was predicted to be different by many people. Some saw a nation-wide network of trolley car lines, while others saw a pedestrian’s paradise. Only a few great men refused to peer into the crystal ball.

#5

The future belonged to the Anglo-American race. The British were having a hard time in South Africa, and the Americans were having a hard time in the Philippines. The idea of expansion, which had been purely selfish before, now became part of the duty of guarding the weak.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The American minister at Peking, Edwin H. Conger, took his wife and four other ladies on a tour of China in 1900. They visited the legation’s special train and went 90 miles inland to Machiapu, the rambling station just outside the walls of Peking.

#2

In April of 1900, the Chinese government watched as the Boxers, a native patriotic society, spread from the south and preached their anti-foreign gospel. The government did not intervene, and the Boxers began to kill the foreign devils.

#3

On May 24, the legation district suddenly stirred. Sedan chairs hurried through the streets converging on the British compound. It was Queen Victoria’s birthday, and Sir Claude was celebrating with a state dinner.

#4

The Chinese government did not help the American missionaries who were being attacked by the Boxers. The Chinese people were sympathetic to the foreign missionaries, but the Chinese government did not help them.

#5

The American diplomats and missionaries were forced to leave Peking on June 13, and the Chinese government gave them just twenty-four hours to leave the country. The diplomats and missionaries at the American Methodist compound just east of Peking debated whether to leave their Chinese Christians behind.