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Nicest Kids in Town: American Bandstand, Rock 'n' Roll, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in 1950s Philadelphia (Volume 32) First Edition
Purchase options and add-ons
- ISBN-100520272080
- ISBN-13978-0520272088
- EditionFirst Edition
- Publication dateFebruary 22, 2012
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions6 x 0.78 x 9 inches
- Print length312 pages
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Well-researched, tightly-written. . . . Impressively bright, clear, and comprehensive.” ― History News Network Published On: 2012-06-05
“Excellent. . . . Offers a valuable understanding of the . . . melding of African Americans into the national youth culture.” ― Choice Published On: 2012-09-01
“The study illustrates how . . . nostalgic representations of the past . . . can work as impediments to progress in the present.” ― Cbq Communication Booknotes Qtly Published On: 2012-10-05
“The Nicest Kids in Town counters the (false) mythology of American Bandstand with valuable descriptions of ‘forgotten’ cultural productions.” -- Gayle Wald, George Washington University ― Jrnl Of The Society For American Music (Jsam) Published On: 2012-11-01
"Lively and perceptive. . . . Delmont’s book offers a subtle, refreshingly interdisciplinary reading of Bandstand as a site of the civil rights struggles in Philadelphia." -- Brian Ward ― American Historical Review Published On: 2013-06-01
From the Inside Flap
The Nicest Kids in Town speaks simultaneously to several significant current lines of inquiry among historians of the United States after World War II. Delmont takes on issues that we thought we already knew completely the social and cultural history of the 1950s and 60s, the Civil Rights movement, the birth of television but he brings original material to his story and connects these issues in new ways. Delmont s work proves him to be a talented, careful, and thorough scholar, and in a large body of work on these topics, his book stands alone. Jay Mechling, author of On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth.
From the Back Cover
“The Nicest Kids in Town speaks simultaneously to several significant current lines of inquiry among historians of the United States after World War II. Delmont takes on issues that we thought we already knew completely―the social and cultural history of the 1950s and ‘60s, the Civil Rights movement, the birth of television―but he brings original material to his story and connects these issues in new ways. Delmont’s work proves him to be a talented, careful, and thorough scholar, and in a large body of work on these topics, his book stands alone.”―Jay Mechling, author of On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth.
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : University of California Press
- Publication date : February 22, 2012
- Edition : First Edition
- Language : English
- Print length : 312 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0520272080
- ISBN-13 : 978-0520272088
- Item Weight : 14.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.78 x 9 inches
- Part of series : American Crossroads
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,854,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #211 in Civil Rights
- #651 in Civil Rights & Liberties (Books)
- #1,457 in Discrimination & Racism
About the author

Matthew F. Delmont is the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College. A Guggenheim Fellow and expert on African American history and the history of civil rights, he is the author of Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad (Viking, 2022), as well four previous books: Black Quotidian, Why Busing Failed, Making Roots, and The Nicest Kids in Town. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and several academic journals, and on NPR. Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Delmont earned his BA from Harvard University and his MA and PhD from Brown University. To learn more about the author, please visit: http://mattdelmont.com


