Unlike most other decades in American history, the 1920s has many colorful nicknames. People call the years between 1920 and 1930 the Roaring Twenties, the Flapper Era, the Jazz Age, the Lawless Decade, and even the Era of Wonderful Nonsense.

Its many descriptive names well earned, the Roaring Twenties were unique in American history. It was the only decade completely under Prohibition, when the sale and manufacture of beer, wine, whiskey, and every other alcoholic beverage were illegal. Prohibition did not prevent tens of millions of Americans from imbibing anyway, but it did make them criminals in the eyes of the law. This widespread lawlessness was coupled with a booming economy that elevated the standard of living of the average middleclass American to new heights. And the lives of most people were profoundly changed by relatively new inventions such as inexpensive automobiles, the radio, and electrical appliances such...