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Recollections: A Baby Boomer's Memories of the Fabulous Fifties

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Author James R. Chambers chose familiar territory to trumpet his arrival to the literary scene, and a welcome arrival it is. Recollections: A Baby Boomer's Memories of The Fabulous Fifties is a wonderfully cohesive soundtrack and love letter to a bygone era. But don't let the title mislead you. Recollections is not a memoir; nor is it a history lesson. It is, rather, a lovingly honest portrait of America in the mid-20th Century.

Mr. Chambers has opened a time capsule, of sorts, that is as fresh and innocent today as it was in 1955. He allows the rest of us to be a fly on the wall as he strolls through a simpler time, when war was a cataclysmic explosion in history rather than a generational inheritance. A world where the children all rushed to Christmas trees that hovered over Hula Hoops and Frisbees, Erector Sets, Davy Crockett slippers. We were first turned on to science by Mr. Wizard, or our first microscope. It's all here, neatly folded and pressed.

As a fellow Baby Boomer, this book visits the street where I lived. Chambers writes about kids and school, arts and entertainment, shopping, politics, culture and the foods of the 1950's. The book is sometimes very funny, like when Chambers recalls that his school didn't need the armed security guards and metal detectors of today "because our enemies were already inside the school - the principal and the teachers." From scene to scene, I found myself caught up in images that Norman Rockwell could have painted. But Chambers uses his "canvas" as a window, as well as a mirror.

He allows for the real struggle, confusion and fear of the times. What child was not made to feel tiny in the Cold War era of bomb shelters and Apocalyptic threats? He lets the world know how our generation came upon it's fascination with all things electronic and gadget-y. And just when we are about to slip into an easy chair with our fond memories of homemade ice cream and Ozzie & Harriet, Chambers shakes up the scenery by calling up images of civil rights marches and segregation. But he does it as an affirmation, rather than an indictment, of America. He helps us to understand how the progress made in race relations during that decade prepared the nation for the broad brush strokes of civil rights advancement a decade later. So the book is not just about the 1950's. It's about who we were during that era, and what went into shaping our coming of age.

Perhaps school children of today who want to better understand their grandparents should scroll through the pages of Recollections with their parents. Both generations will find much admire and respect about our generation of Baby Boomers within the context of their times. And whenever you get frustrated with modern day realites - can't program the DVR, the smartphone is too darn smart, CNN gets it wrong again. Sit a spell and relax.

Jim Chambers left these tasty little bread crumbs along the road so that we can find our way home.

I, too, am a Baby Boomer; though a few years younger than the author of "Recollections." We share many of the same memories, as I was constantly nodding vigorously and crying, "Yes, yes" as I took this poignant and humorous walk down Memory Lane. Mr. Chambers artfully interweaves interesting historical tidbits with his own recollections of The Fabulous Fifties.

So many words and phrases elicited a reflexive warm-and-fuzzy nostalgic grin -- The Weekly Reader; View Master; filling up your S&H Green Stamp book; Peanut Butter Logs. Even wince-inducing memories -- Cod Liver Oil, anyone? - brought a laugh, due to Mr. Chambers' hilarious description of being subjected to that indignity. At least we could get rid of the foul taste by licking the ice cream off the dasher of the old wooden churn!

"Recollections" perfectly blends paying homage to those little day-to-day rituals with a larger-scale examination of social issues and mores of the times. And it's equally entertaining on either level.

The book is neatly divided into 12 independent chapters, noted above, so for the reader short on time, it would be easy just to pick a topic of interest and dive in. I can guarantee you, though -- that chapter is going to make you hungry for more. The engaging, conversational style of this book made it very difficult to put down. And it was almost like a treasure hunt -- as I'd be reading an account of popular candies or toys of the day, I'd think of one myself and eagerly wait to see if it was mentioned. Unfailingly, it was. I thought I had caught an omission once when I found no reference to the intoxicating smell of a fresh mimeograph in the "School" section -- but not to worry, it was there in the subsequent chapter on "Gadgets and Gizmos."

Before I read this book, I may have admitted, if pressed, that I was probably overly romanticizing and glorifying my "good old days" -- but now, I'm not so sure. The innocence and humanity and optimism of this time in history seem hard to dispute after reading this funny but loving tribute to this era.

This book provides a fabulous trip down memory lane. Born in 1959, this fast reading book brought back plenty of memories I had forgotten. Thank you Mr. Chambers for the time capsule.

I have to admit I haven't always been a fan of history. And even today I find myself more intrigued by the events our history books left out, or the people of our pasts who are just as important but less celebrated. The fabulous fifties were my parent's era, not mine. But what attracted me to Jim Chambers' book was actually two things: the cover and the fact that it's a personal memoir (although Jim says it's not!) and not just a historical account.

Thanks to Wikimedia Commons, Jim's book has an attractive cover made up of numerous black and white and color photos right from American culture that's sure to catch the eyes and attention of anyone. From Cracker Jacks to TV Dinners to Elvis to Eisenhower the cover, with its bright yellow background, draws the reader in and gives them lots of interesting things to relate to. Without having read one single thing about this book beyond its cover, I knew I wanted to review it. True, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but the fact that my opinion of the cover is positive speaks for itself. The author captured the essence and theme of his book perfectly, and this is a great example of just a good book cover all around! Jim should definitely be proud.

That said, the story inside is just as amazing as the book's outside. The Foreword begins with the age old question, "What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?" The author immediately reels you in by telling the reader about one of his favorite books, Bill Bryson's The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, a recollection of what it was like to grow up in the 50s and 60s. Jim then explains why the 50s were such an important period for those who were growing up at that time: war, science, sports, literature, history, medicine. The landmark of events was a never ending journey that commands attention. Here's just a small list right from the introduction of the book:

* Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states
* WWII ended
* The Cold War began
* The Great Depression ended
* Women went to work
* The double helix DNA structure was discovered
* Polio Vaccine
* The Space Race between the US and the USSR
* Don Larsen pitched a perfect game at the `56 World Series
* The Catcher in the Rye became a bestseller
* Marlon Brando won an Oscar
* Ben-Hur won 11 Academy Awards
* The Kinsey Reports were published
* Demonstrations led to the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act to be passed

And all of this and more in just the first four pages! At the end of the Foreword, the author states, as I said before, that this is NOT a personal memoir. And while it is indeed more of a historical account, the author does provide personal commentary along the way. Just as the title states, the book is made of "recollections." The book has that "tell me 'bout the good ole days" feel to it while also keeping true to preserving the historical facts. Jim's account is not biased, although some parts definitely have that grumpy ole man "back in my day" feel to it. But rather than being grumpy about it, Jim just captures a simpler time that other baby boomers can only reminisce about now. He explains the way certain headlines made him feel and how they shaped and changed our country.

At only 135 pages, the book is divided into 12 chapters covering war, family, kids, arts, food, entertainment, shopping, travel, medicine, science, and more. I particularly liked the family chapter where Jim paints a picture that I even remember myself when my Mom stayed at home in the 80s to raise the kids and we didn't even have cable TV:

"Family life was in some ways simpler and less hectic in the Fifties than it is today. Since cities were much smaller then, commute times were shorter than today, so working fathers were usually home by 5:30 in the afternoon. When my dad got home from work, we all had dinner together. Meals were real sit-down family affairs, not the quick grab-a-bite-on-the-run things they often are today. My mother got up in the morning long before the rest of us did and started making biscuits from scratch and frying sausage or bacon and eggs ("It ain't breakfast unless a pig died!") Pillsbury made refrigerated canned biscuits that weren't bad, but our mom insisted on making them from scratch every morning, even though it was a lot of work. Weekday lunches were at school, but dinner was a sit-down time to talk about the day and fill up with our mom's wonderful home cooking. There weren't many so called convenience foods then, so meals were made almost entirely from scratch, a very time-consuming process."

From the clothes drying on the line in the backyard to Leave It To Beaver playing on the black and white TV set, Jim Chambers' Recollections is a fantastic journey down memory lane for the baby boomers and a trivia filled, historical reference for the younger generations. I'd love to see the author extend Recollections to possibly include a 60s and 70s edition.

Like I said, I was just a baby day dream back then because my parents were in their teens in the 50s, but I can appreciate Chambers' book for the beauty of a much simpler time he has captured that I would have loved to have experienced, that I miss today in our socially inept world that's plugged in, downloaded, and wired for the future. I plan to share my copy of his book with my parents because I know they will appreciate it too. Thank you, Jim, for the memories!

Jim Chambers' delightful Recollections: a Baby Boomer's Memories of the Fabulous Fifties (2009) is, for the most part, an autobiography, as the title suggests--and despite the author's "...promise that this book is not a personal memoir." Presumably, he meant to say that he will sometimes write about matters beyond his personal experience, as, for example, when he discusses the "McCarthy Era." Usually, however, he presents mostly his own memories, from ages three to thirteen, of a middle-class childhood in the region of Greater Atlanta, rather than the kind of analysis one would expect from a history book.
Chambers' memories match my own closely, although I am almost ten years older and spent the 1950s in a suburb of Washington, D.C., and in college in Connecticut. Clearly, he supplemented his recollections with a lot of research into popular culture: family life, entertainment, schooling, food, and so on, and put that research to good use. Speaking as a professional historian, I must say that I found no major and only a few minor issues over which to quibble in this book. For example, early on, Chambers regards the Korean War as fought in 1951 in South Korea, whereas in fact it lasted from 1950 to 1953 (as he later acknowledges), and involved fighting largely in North Korea as well as in the South.
In the larger sense, some readers might prefer to read more about the 1950s' darker side, as, for instance, the economic troubles of the recession years, 1954 and 1957-58. It was a much maligned decade, and often justly so. Granted, Chambers does mention such problems as racial segregation, and other, less Norman Rockwell-like aspects of the time. Should he have dwelt more on such matters? It depends on his intent. He has given us a faithful account of his Fifties, as he meant to do, and it is inappropriate to criticize an author for failing to write some other book from what he intended. In fact, he was remarkably open-minded and even-handed in discussing the shortcomings of the Fifties, when he does mention them.
Enjoy this book. If you can recall the Fifties, you will say, often, "Yes, it was like that," or "Oh, yes, now that you mention it, I do remember that!" If you are too young to remember, well, then, you may find much of what went on (or did not go on) in the Fifties to be new to you--at least on the gut level, beyond what you may previously have learned about those years. The past, after all, is a "strange country"; so you will, I think, be glad to have this brief, but pleasurable, guide to such a foreign land. Travel is broadening, in time as well as space.
Karl G. Larew, Ph.D. (and author of two novels about the
1950s)

Kudos to Mr. Chambers for allowing us to travel along with him on his trip down memory lane. I felt as though he was observing my life too, oh so many details could have been taken from my book of life.

At times while reading I felt very sentimentally torn between being so grateful for having that childhood/coming of age, to wondering what it would have been like to have what today's kids have. But all in all, I wouldn't trade my life for a kid's life today for ANYTHING!

It was a simple life, as Mr. Chambers so artfully detailed. He masterfully includes so many minute details. It is easy to see he researched this beyond just his memories. I have those memories too, but no way could I remember all the dates and exact names like he did.

Including historical information was the icing on the cake, and filled in the gap for anyone not of our generation to be able to have an idea of the era's important milestones we just lived through. They were natural parts of life for us, little did we know that we were living through major historical life events that would shape our world.

The candy, the prices, the games, the tv shows (or lack of..haha), the clothing, music...all of it priceless remembrances of a time so long ago, yet forever in our memories. I can at any time recall those days with such vivid color, but it is nice to see it in print, because there may be a day when my memory is not so clear.

One thing is for sure, we boomers are linked across time and distance through our commonalities of growing up. We are unique, and our value structures were developed from our experiences.

I have told my students many times of the 'olden days', times when I could go the movies AND get a coke and popcorn all for about a quarter. They can't imagine a world like that. But more than that, they can't imagine a life without video games and cell phones. Well, it's our little secret then, that we didn't miss what we didn't know, now did we???

Get this book, and stroll down memory lane, chuckle and maybe even shed a tear or two, but you won't for a minute regret your decision to read it!

Jim Chambers and Jim Croce are 'saving time in a bottle' for all of us. What a joyous trip for any baby boomer. I can also imagine that any parent whose children were coming of age in the Fabulous Fifties would relish the remembrances that they might have missed with so much to do raising their kids.

I am technically a baby boomer, but my age puts me toward the end of the boomer era. What surprised me about this collection was just how many new technologies got their start in the 50s. The historical collection was quite revealing. After the depression and war experience, it seemed the nation went through an explosion of ideas and inventions that started us hurtling toward the New Age. When I think of how much has changed exponentially, I am amazed. No wonder the world pace seems frenetic. This priceless trip down memory lane reminds us that there was a place in our (recent) history when the pace of life seemed more serene.

Thanks again, Mr Chambers, for the superb job of bringing the memories back to the front porch of anyone who is a boomer and providing details to the later generations of what the Fabulous Fifties were like through the eyes of a kid.

I enjoyed your style and attention to details. Recollections was an easy and quick read. I will be looking for more from your pen. My Kindle has plenty of room for your musings. Thanks again, Rose

As a gen ex'er I didn't think this book would have much to offer me but was I wrong. It was fascinating to step through the 1950s through the eyes of a young boy growing up in that era. Jim's recollections had me living in that day and imagining what life must've been like back them. It was refreshing and fun to see the adventures of Jim and Janis (his sister). The trip through memory lane also included the impacts of technology and prosperity to a war-torn WWII generation. Interesting, informative and educational the book captivated its reader while educating you about a wonderful period of American History

Although I was born after the glorious Fifties, reading Recollections made me feel like I was there. Not to mention the holes that suddenly were filled in with "OH - so THATS's where that came from!" I found myself chuckling often at Chambers' stories of his childhood. And I was saddened a bit at the innocence and tight-knit community that we've lost as the images from a golden time came alive on the pages.
This should be mandatory reading for anyone born before, during or after the 50's. It is a wonderful snapshot of a very special time in our country. A time that even those that were never there will never forget, thanks to Recollections.

After the war, there was a relative peace on the home front. "Recollections: A Baby Boomer's Memoirs of the Fabulous Fifties" is a memoir of Jim Chambers as he remembers his childhood of the 1950s, a time where America was booming after a decade of war and a decade of depression. Remembering these times fondly, Chambers gives readers a charming read and something to lift the spirits of a happier time. "Recollections" is well worth considering.