AWARDED THE KIRKUS STAR!NAMED TO KIRKUS REVIEWS' BEST OF 2011 LIST!2012 INDIEREADER DISCOVERY AWARD WINNER!2012 ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD RECIPIENT!INDIE BOOK AWARDS FINALIST IN TWO CATEGORIES!An extended Italian immigrant family clings to community life amid tragedy, the Spanish flu, Prohibition, and the Great Depression. A broken Polish immigrant family leaves a legacy of heartbreak, separation, Civilian Conservation Corps redemption, and World War II heroism. From these dissimilar backgrounds emerges a quintessential American family, one whose members embody the conflicting social movements of their times: a staunchly Catholic Polish immigrant U.S. Marine Corps father, an emotionally effusive Italian mother, an Oliver North son, a Hillary Clinton daughter, a mentally ill sister, a jock brother, a lesbian rocker, and a gay male activist. In an age of bitter cultural polarization, Oh, Beautiful: An American Family in the 20th Century celebrates what has kept America together. This true story is an engrossing portrait of an American family and an evocative documentation of nearly 100 years of American history.Read a free excerpt (Chapter One) at johnpaulgodges.com/Excerpt1.html