In 10th grade, a teacher suggested that I read this book and do a report on it. I found one sex scene so shocking that I returned the book to her and suggested she was irresponsible for recommending it to a 14 year old.

I still wouldn't recommend it to a teen, but this is an excellent historical novel. It depicts the lives of three families in turn-of-the-century New York--a poor Jewish immigrant & his daughter, an upper middle class white family and an unwed black couple--whose lives become entwined with tragic results.  Added interest is provided by guest appearances from Harry Houdini, JP Morgan, Emma Goldman, Booker T. Washington, and other historical figures.

(Reviewed:)

Grade: (A) Orrin C. Judd

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E.L. Doctorow Links:

    -ESSAY: W.G. Sebald: The modern novel's master strategist (E.L. Doctorow, March 23, 2003, LA Times)

Book-related and General Links:
    -False Documents: An E. L. Doctorow Page
    -E. L. Doctorow '48:  Author and Professor (Bronx H.S. of Science)
    -Mostly Fiction: recommended books by E.L. Doctorow
    -New York State Writers Institute - E. L. Doctorow
    -FEATURED AUTHOR: E.L. Doctorow (NY Times Book Review)(reviews, etc.)
    -PROFILE: THE MYTH MAKER THE CREATIVE MIND: EL Doctorow (Bruce Weber, NY Times Magazine)
    -INTERVIEW: The National Book Foundation presents  a conversation with National Book Award Winner  E.L. Doctorow, author of World's Fair (Diane Osen, National Book Foundation)
    -ESSAY: THE PASSION OF OUR CALLING  (E. L. Doctorow, NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of HARRIET BEECHER STOWE A Life. By Joan D. Hedrick (E. L. Doctorow, NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of THE GARDEN OF EDEN By Ernest Hemingway (E. L. Doctorow, NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING  By Milan Kundera (E. L. Doctorow, NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of  AN AMATEUR LABORER By Theodore Dreiser (E. L. Doctorow, NY Times Book Review)
    -ARTICLE: E. L. Doctorow's New York; A Native of the Bronx Chronicles a Century of the City
(BRUCE WEBER, NY Times)
    -ARTICLE: DOCTOROW REVISITS THE 'WORLD'S FAIR' OF HIS NOVEL (HERBERT MITGANG, NY Times)
    -ARTICLE: Doctorow's People: Old Souls, New Bodies (HERBERT MITGANG, NY Times)
    -ESSAY: WRITERS AND THE NOSTALGIC FALLACY  (Marilynne Robinson, NY Times Book Review)
    -ESSAY: DOCTOROW: INVENTING MEMORY  (SALLY LEVITT STEINBERG, NY Times Book Review)
    -Viet Nam War: Doctorow, Heller and the Origins of U.S. Intervention (Daniel Zins)
    -ESSAY: Tricksters in Doctorow and Kingston (Jonna Mackin)
    -REVIEW: Roger Sale: From Ragtime to Riches, NY Review of Books
       Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow
    -REVIEW: Diane Johnson: Waiting for Righty, NY Review of Books
       Loon Lake by E.L. Doctorow
    -REVIEW: of BILLY BATHGATE By E. L. Doctorow (Anne Tyler, NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of Billy Bathgate (CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT, NY Times)
    -REVIEW: Garry Wills: Juggler's Code, NY Review of Books
       Billy Bathgate by E.L. Doctorow
    -REVIEW: of World's Fair (David Leavitt, NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of World's Fair (CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT, NY Times)
    -REVIEW: Robert Towers: Three-Part Inventions, NY review of Books
       World's Fair by E.L. Doctorow
       Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut
       Where She Was by Anderson Ferrell
    -REVIEW: of  LIVES OF THE POETS Six Stories and a Novella. By E. L. Doctorow (Benjamin DeMott, NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of LIVES OF THE POETS Six Stories and a Novella. (CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT, NY Times)
    -REVIEW: Robert Towers: Light and Lively, NY Review of Books
       Difficult Loves by Italo Calvino
       Lives of the Poets: A Novella and Six Stories by E.L. Doctorow
    -REVIEW: of THE WATERWORKS By E. L. Doctorow (Simon Schama,  NY Times Book Review)
    -REVIEW: of The Waterworks (CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT, NY Times)
    -REVIEW: Luc Sante: The Cabinet of Dr. Sartorius, NY Review of Books
       The Waterworks by E.L. Doctorow
    -REVIEW: of Jack London, Hemingway and the Constitution Selected Essays, 1977-1992 By E. L. Doctorow (CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT, NY Times)
    -REVIEW: CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD E.L. Doctorow's The Waterworks mixes a bizarre horror story with the sights and sounds of 19th-century Manhattan (PAUL GRAY, TIME)

If you liked Ragtime, try:

Carr, Caleb
    -The Alienist
    -The Angel of Darkness

Chernow, Ron
    -The House of Morgan : An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance

Day, Clarence
    -Life with Father

Finney, Jack
    -Time and Again

Greenberg, Eric Rolfe
    -The Celebrant

Hjorstberg, William
    -Nevermore

Kennedy, William
    -An Albany Trio : Three Novels from the Albany Cycle : Legs, Billy Phelan's Greatest Game, Ironweed

Zency, Eric
    -Panama