Tom Lutz on 1925

If you ever see Tom Lutz on Jeopardy! and the Final Jeopardy category is, “The Year 1925,” call Vegas and put your life savings, house, and 401(k) on his winning the game.

His new book, 1925: A Literary Encyclopedia (Rare Bird Books), is an exhaustive collection of entries on the cultural, scientific, and historical scenes; across 800 pages, entries range from “Wilbur Cortez Abbott’s The New Barbarians” to “Zeitgeist.” The philological coincidence that makes that word the last entry is perfect for the book, which captures the spirit of its time in a manner that is accessible, erudite, and addicting. As a novelist, historian, professor, critic, and founder of the Los Angeles Review of Books, Tom has lived among books his entire life, but he is far from bookish: like his writing, he’s energetic, often funny, and engaging. Listen to us talk about Hemingway, Mencken, and the now-forgotten Joseph Hergesheimer.