A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades - The 1950s [Hardcover]

Stuart A. Kallen (Editor)

Book Description

Series: A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades | Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Perhaps the most idealized of America's decades, in reality, it was one of the most disturbing. The cold war was at its height, making fear of nuclear annihilation and of communist infiltrators dominant themes.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Well illustrated with black-and-white photographs and maps, this offering covers the political, economic, and cultural development of the United States during the 1950s. Kallen paints Cold War political views with a decidedly biased brush. For example, he states "the guilt or innocence of the Rosenbergs...is unproven." Nothing positive is written about J. Edgar Hoover. And while Joseph McCarthy is probably not on anybody's list of heroes, he is the only person Kallen mentions as being from "the wrong side of the tracks." Also, McCarthy's drinking habits are featured in a special sidebar, while the beatniks' use of alcohol and drugs is treated more sympathetically. However, much of Kallen's work positively shines. His descriptions of growing up in the suburbs, the submissive roles adopted by most women, and the conformity demanded by corporate life are very much on target. The explanation of how rock 'n' roll was brought to prominence is especially interesting. The explanation of technological paradoxes is equally good. Kallen's introduction is particularly appropriate, and he provides beautiful transitions, nicely unifying the whole. For fans of this decade, Patricia Baker's Fashions of a Decade: The 1950s (Facts On File, 1991) provides large, colorful illustrations and much historical and cultural information. While dauntingly thick and written primarily for adults, David Halberstam's The Fifties (Villard, 1993) would be a good resource for those who want to know more.
Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. This entry in the Cultural History of the United States series opens by noting that the events of the decade were recorded in countless black-and-white photos, movies, and TV programs--appropriately so, since the fifties were a time of stark contrasts. Not only were there divisions between the black and white populations of the U.S., but there was also the affluence of the postwar period juxtaposed against the tensions of nuclear proliferations, and culturally there was the straitlaced, anti-Communist society coexisting with radical new expressions in music, literature, and film. Kallen does an excellent job of surveying the decade and placing it in the larger context of American history. He also examines what life was like for teenagers at the time and addresses such key elements of the decade as the civil rights movement, McCarthyism, the advent of the television age, and the effects, both positive and negative, of innovations in science and technology. The text is highly readable and the photos well chosen. A chronology and a list of books for further reading (most of them adult titles) round out this valuable volume. Source notes appended. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Hardcover: 127 pages
• Publisher: Lucent Books; 1 edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560065559
• ISBN-13: 978-1560065555
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,169,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview, August 21, 2005

By 

Pintorini (Saint Louis, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades - The 1950s (Hardcover)

This slender tome won't tell you much you couldn't learn from David Halberstam's far denser treatment of this decade in his lively book "The Fifties." Nor will it provide the context necessary for a complete grasp of any of the discrete subjects touched upon, such as the golden age of television, the early civil rights movement, the Korean War, the Cold War, the nuclear family, or the Eisenhower administration. And of course no history book could hope to accurately capture the experiences of all who lived in the very large and diverse USA during any decade. But this is an engaging summary of the cultural generalizations that can be made about this time and place, and an excellent outline of the experiences shared by many Americans such as the cold war, the fear of communism, nuclear anxieties, the influence of television, and conformist pressures. This would be a good introduction for late high schoolers, early college students, or any history novice who simply wants a bird's-eye view. Alternatively, this would be a good book to read after Halberstam's book, and other more in-depth treatments, to reinforce the salient points. The well-chosen photographs provide further insights.

2.0 out of 5 stars Book review, March 31, 2009

By 

disappointed - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades - The 1950s (Hardcover)

I thought the book was very through as all the books in the series are however I thought there was an obvious slant to the left in the text. The assessment that the white people were brainwashed conformist who excluded all that was different was a little disturbing to me. There was a tremendous amount of economic grow and prosperity due to the free market and capatalism. Brainwashed conformists could not have done such great things.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Fifties Were "My Time" -- really fun!, September 7, 2006

By 

Betty Burks "Betty Burks" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades - The 1950s (Hardcover)

Life Was Good Then., June 27, 2005
Reviewer: Betty Burks (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This decade was "the best of times" for those of us growing up then. The music was the best and is still being played on radio stations fifty years later. And yet, the Scripps newspaper left out this decade when local talent shows abounded, and even some of us did pantomimes (not just the two Don Ferguson wrote about), and on newspaper editor said it was the worst of times as you couldn't drink in a restaurant. Most of Knoxville drinks behinds doors anyway; I had one radio announcer tell me that he knows all about the solitary drinker. Poor thing!

Harry Truman was still the war president and ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to develop the hydrogen bomb. He had already made our military use the atomic bomb which was developed in Oak Ridge, a few miles from Knoxville. He was a ferocious president but a coward in doing the fighting for himself.

Innocent people were slandered and a couple of "spies" were electrocuted in New York prisons -- time has show that the wrong people were put to death. Because of politics the careeer of Alger Hiss was destroyed because of malicious lies by a political informer.

The pictures in this volume are absolutely fantastic. Hopalong Cassidy is there watching an orphaned bear in New Mexico hold a poster with a U.S. Forestry offical "Help Prevent Forest Fires." Guess he is the original Smokey the Bear. Where was Troy Montgomery?

There is a photo showing a theater marquee proclaiming "Free To Public Kefauver TV Senate Crime Hearings. McCarthy tried to destroy the lives and careers of folks out in Hollywood. He did some, but others used other names and kept on working on films.

The U. S. Postmaster General cuts mail delivery from twice a day to only once. Now, it takes a week and the cost of postage has gotten so exhorbitant that most people send e-mail. Sometimes, even a Priority Mail ($3.85) does not reach its destination in 2005.

New on T.V.: "The Jack Benny Show''What's My Line' (tried to get on that one at the tender age of 15, 'You Bet Your Life' with Groucho Marx (boy, he was a clown!), and 'Your Show of Shows.' Why'd they leave 'Coke Time' out;that was THE SHOW for that decade and Eddie Fisher was the star.

Douglas MacArthur is remanded to the States by Truman to a ticker-tape parade and he declared to Congress, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." But he didn't -- no sir, he went back to where he promised he would return and rebuilt Japan singlehandedly.

In the Fifties, the average cost of four years of college was only $1800 (what I was promised when I married my teacher -- didn't get it!), up 400 percent from 1900. What is it today?

The execution of the Rosenbergs is a black eye to this country and will forever be a travesty of justice. It is blind justice.