The American Dream: The 50's (Our American Century)

by Time-Life Books and Richard B. Stolley

Book Overview

A series of books chronicling our lives in powerful time capsules, from the dawn of the century -- when horses outnumbered cars 21 million to 8,000 -- to its close. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0737002018
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Time Life Education
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.1" x 0.8" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Bring back the 50's

A complete walk down memory lane. Except for the Red Scare and Atomic War fear, the fifties seem like utopia compared to today. This book is a most have for boomers.

Life Was Good Then.

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 one 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 shown that the wrong people were put to death. Because of politics the career 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. 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 assumed different 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 exorbitant 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 thebiggest star of the Fifties. 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 on this country and will forever be a travesty of justice. It is blind justice.

Really cool and really informative!

The information and the pictures in this book are both great- I really learned a lot about the '50s. Everything is covered- music legends, Hollywood stars, important personalities, major political events, even what cars and toys were tops!I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes to learn about history- you'll be interested!

A Real Treat For Those Remembering The 1950's !

192 pages jam packed with outstanding black and white and color photos of this time many of us remember. Provides an insight of the best of time, icons of the era, living the good life, the Red threat, dream machines, equal rights, TV, sports, entertainment and much, much more. If you remember S & H Green Stamps, Erector Sets, pink Cadillacs, fallout shelters, Sputnik, and dancing Old Gold Packs, you'll appreciate this winner.

A great visual journey through time

i'm a thirteen year old girl who had to use this book for a resourse in a history project for this decade. at first i thought the fifties were very boring and sugar coated. i took what i needed from the book and returned it. i went back to the library a month later for more books and saw this one again. i opened it and saw amazing pictures of athletes, comedians, civil rights activists, tv stars and more. i learned how real the fifties were, and how it changed america. this book is a great coffee table book as well as resourse. get this book as well as the other books in the series before the millenium!!