This is the kind of book where you want to grab the author and say, 'Chose one or two issues and really deal with them. Leave the others for other books.' Even with 500 pages to fill, one book can't deal with every problem of the 20th century. And when the author tries, the result is that none of them really gets dealt with. ( )

Rose Smith was born right at the beginning of the twentieth century - in the year 1900 - the year that ushered in the most rapidly changing century in history. It was a century filled with remarkable advancements - in the field of medicine, in the world of technology, politics, and most especially within American society. At the age of ten, Rose loses her mother to an illness which everyone seems remarkably vague about; refusing to even entertain Rose's simplest questions regarding her mother's death.

Raised by her somewhat distant father, her older sister Maude, and her new stepmother Celia, Rose quickly learns to become independent and adaptable. As she grows up and begins a family of her own, she and her three very distinct but equally strong-willed daughters, as well as the men in their lives become an indelible part of the country's growth too - an America beset, and inescapably altered by - the onset of devastating wars, the advent of new medicines, and the emerging empowerment and autonomy of women.

This is a glorious saga that spans the years of twentieth-century America - a poignant tale of our century and our America - as told through the experiences of four generations in the same family that embodies the human experience. This is a story that chronicles the lives of an extraordinary woman and a family whose lives are composed of a mosaic of tragedy and joy, love and hate, rivalry, struggle and redemption. This is also a poignant tale of an unforgettable family, and the choices made, chances taken and twists of fate followed, which transform people's lives forever.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I have always enjoyed reading books about families - books dealing with families and their histories. Although this was a relatively quick read for me, it still had the feeling of an intricately-woven, well-plotted family saga. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I found it just the slightest bit long-winded in parts. I give this book a definite A+! ( )

A quick paced family saga, focusing on the life events of the family of Rose Smith Carson, born on January 1, 1900, and still living in 1999. Most of the major events of the 20th century affected some member or members of the family: World War I, the influenza epidemic, World War II, beatniks, polio, the women's movement, gay pride, the sexual revolution, the Pill, advances in medicine, and many more. I found it interesting; I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens next, but I wished many parts of it had been more fully developed. ( )

Sometimes you just want to read a story & not think too much. That's when an author like Rona Jaffe comes in handy. This is a novel about a family spanning the twentieth century with it's main character, Rose, being born in 1900. We first meet her in 1910 at her mother's funeral & then follow her through courtship, marriage, and family until the book closes in 1999.

Along the way the reader experiences, two world wars, the Spanish influenza epidemic, the Depression, polio epidemics, the beginnings o the women's sand gay rights movement and the AIDS epidemic all seen through the experiences of various family members.

Hardly realistic, but emminently readable this is the perfect book to read on a cold & snowy weekend with a pot of tea at your side. ( )

Rose is born in 1900, and this is the story of her life and her descendants' lives through the 20th century and also the story of how the United States changed in those same years. The history parts were interesting, but the stories involving Rose's family were a little dry with no real sense of emotion or drama to keep the reader interested. ( )