Cheap Ragtime (Book) (E. L. Doctorow) Price

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Customer Reviews of Ragtime

Great Historical Novel
Doctorow's historical novel, Ragtime, cracks this century's top 100 novels around position 75. The story, whose setting is in New York during the early 1900's, has several non-fictional characters in it. The reader catches a personal look at escape artist Houdini, investor and millionaire J.P. Morgan, mechanical inventor Henry Ford, and feminist Emma Goldman.

Inadvertently, these characters play an important part in causing an event that involved a Negro looking for justice. Coalhouse Walker was a ragtime musician whose car was wrecked by jealous firemen. Walker, seeking restoration of his car, escalates the fight after going to authorities. He fails to find justice and eventually a group of his men hold Morgan's museum / library in New York City as hostage and cause a stand off until the leader of the firemen restores his car.

At the start, the reader is lead to think he is getting an expose into the lives that made the early 1900's. However, there is a sense that Doctorow is taking the reader somewhere, but it isn't revealed until midway. Doctorow has done his research and captures the turmoil and amazement of the period perfectly. If you like this period of American History, this book will certainly interest you.

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Listen to that Ragtime!!!
This I would have to say is one of the most amazing books I have ever read! I can only define it as "rich". Everytime I opened that book, it seemed like a Bible for the 1900's era. A era exploding with new things. I love each character with a deep understanding a personal connection. I read the book after hearing of the musical. I never put it down! I love everything about this book, the beautiful settings and the fictional characters being perfectly blended with real characters.

This is the first book I have read where I actually enjoyed reading more information about. Unlike other classics, which can often be monotonous, "Ragtime" has many things to look at. The "Crime of the Century", figures like Emma Goldman, Evelyn Nesbit and Harry Houdini. I found this book not only a door to an Amazing musical, but also a door into American history.

Characters in this story have body, and real heart to them. You want them to be real. You want Mother to be real, you want to see Father travelling, it's just so natural and flawless. Everyone is admirable and everything is wonderful. A definant best for me, I still cannot put it down!!

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Haunting and Beautiful
I delayed reading this book for many years, because it sounded sort of hokey. That was a HUGE mistake. It is one of the most beautiful books that I've ever read. It makes me cringe when people describe a book using the "tapestry" metaphor, but it is really fitting here: the reader watches, spellbound, as a city full of individual lives come and go and interact in surprising ways during a fascinating period of American history.

Everyone is here: the Gilded Age millionaires, the upper middle class suburbanites, the newly-arrived immigrants, the writers and singers and musicians, the protesters. Every thread that still makes up a city appears and lives and works together. We see them all, and we see the world as they see it, even if only for a few moments. The book has some funny moments and some poignant moments, but ultimately it will leave you feeling like you've witnessed some very important events.