Just started rereading this - Laura Hillenbrand did such an amazing job with this book. From the very beginning, the characters reach out and suck you into the time and era of the early 20th Century. It's all the more amazing because these 'characters' are actual people. I think it's hard for most of us to appreciate the life and times of the Depression - we see those black and white photos of the Dustbowl, maybe you watch or read Grapes of Wrath, but I don't think we truly grasp what it was like to live in those times. There was such a huge shift in the way of life that I don't think we're capable of appreciating it from our vantage point that is the 21st Century.
That said, the author does a superb job of recreating the world that was San Francisco circa 1910. She takes her time describing the three men of the book, as well as the world they lived in, and in doing so, they absolutely come to life. It feels like an almost leisurely stroll through the life and times of Charles Howard, Tom Smith and Red Pollard, yet each man had such a compelling history that you could devote an entire book to each man alone.
It's been a couple years since I've read the book, so I've forgotten a lot of the details of the book, but then again, it just means I get to re-experience how much I liked the book the first time 'round.
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