American Culture in the 1950s
American Culture in the 1950s

Author: Martin Halliwell

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2007-03-13

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0748628908

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This book provides a stimulating account of the dominant cultural forms of 1950s America: fiction and poetry; theatre and performance; film and television; music and radio; and the visual arts. Through detailed commentary and focused case studies of influential texts and events - from Invisible Man to West Side Story, from Disneyland to the Seattle World's Fair, from Rear Window to The Americans - the book examines the way in which modernism and the cold war offer two frames of reference for understanding the trajectory of postwar culture. The two core aims of this volume are to chart the changing complexion of American culture in the years following World War II and to provide readers with a critical investigation of 'the 1950s'. The book provides an intellectual context for approaching 1950s American culture and considers the historical impact of the decade on recent social and cultural developments.

Howl and Other Poems
Howl and Other Poems

Author: Allen Ginsberg

Publisher: City Lights Publishers

Published: 1956-06-01

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13: 9780872860179

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The epigraph for Howl is from Walt Whitman: "Unscrew the locks from the doors!/Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!" Announcing his intentions with this ringing motto, Allen Ginsberg published a volume of poetry which broke so many social...

The Other Blacklist
The Other Blacklist

Author: Mary Washington

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2014-04-22

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0231152701

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Revealing the formative influence of 1950s leftist radicalism on African American literature and culture.

It Came From the 1950s!
It Came From the 1950s!

Author: Darryl Jones

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2011-10-04

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 0230337236

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An eclectic and insightful collection of essays predicated on the hypothesis that popular cultural documents provide unique insights into the concerns, anxieties and desires of their times. 1950s popular culture is analysed by leading scholars and critics such as Christopher Frayling, Mark Jancovich, Kim Newman and David J. Skal.

Let's Rock!
Let's Rock!

Author: Richard Aquila

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-10-28

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 1442269375

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Rock & roll was one of the most important cultural developments in post–World War II America, yet its origins are shrouded in myth and legend. Let’s Rock! reclaims the lost history of rock & roll. Based on years of research, as well as interviews with Bo Diddley, Pat Boone, and other rock & roll pioneers, the book offers new information and fresh perspectives about Elvis, the rise of rock & roll, and 1950s America. Rock & roll is intertwined with the rise of a post–World War II youth culture, the emergence of African Americans in society, the growth of consumer culture, technological change, the expansion of mass media, and the rise of a Cold War culture that endorsed traditional values to guard against communism. Richard Aquila’s book demonstrates that early rock & roll was not as rebellious as common wisdom has it. The new sound reflected the conservatism and conformity of the 1950s as much as it did the era’s conflict. Rock & roll supported centrist politics, traditional values, and mainstream attitudes toward race, gender, class, and ethnicity. The musical evidence proves that most teenagers of the 1950s were not that different from their parents and grandparents when it came to basic beliefs, interests, and pastimes. Young and old alike were preoccupied by the same concerns, tensions, and insecurities. Rock & roll continues to permeate the fabric of modern life, and understanding the music’s origins reminds us of the common history we all share. Music lovers who grew up during rock & roll’s early years as well as those who have come to it more recently will find Let’s Rock an exciting historical and musical adventure.

Larger Than Life
Larger Than Life

Author: R. Barton Palmer

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 0813547660

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A Volume in the Star Decades: American Culture/American Cinema series, edited by Adrienne L. McLean and Murray Pomerance --Book Jacket.

Mazie
Mazie

Author: Melanie Crowder

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2022-02-22

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 052551676X

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*"Deserves a standing ovation." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *" This is a terrific and realistic piece of historical fiction that is perfect for theater lovers and historical fiction fans." --SLC (starred review) *"The peppy first-person narrative keeps the story zipping along, and adroitly placed period details make the setting come alive in this bighearted, exuberant novel." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) An eighteen-year-old aspiring actress trades in starry Nebraska skies for the bright lights of 1950s Broadway in this show-stopping novel from award-winning author Melanie Crowder. Mazie has always longed to be on Broadway. But growing up in her small Nebraska town, that always seemed like an impossible dream. So when an opportunity presents itself to spend six weeks auditioning, Mazie jumps at the chance, leaving behind everything--and everyone--she's ever known. New York City is a shock to the senses: thrilling, but lonely. Auditions are brutal. Mazie's homesick and she misses the boyfriend whose heart she broke when she left. Nothing is as she expected. With money running out, and faced with too many rejections to count, Mazie is more determined than ever to land a role. But when she discovers that booking a job might mean losing sight of herself, everything Mazie always thought she wanted is called into question. Mazie is the story of a girl caught between two lives--and two loves--as she navigates who she is, what matters most, and the cost of following her dream. Praise for Mazie: "Entertaining and heartfelt."-- Booklist "Mazie’s authenticity makes this novel stand out. Recommended for all collections, especially where theater is popular."– School Library Journal

Radical Fictions
Radical Fictions

Author: Nick Bentley

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9783039109340

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Nick Bentley takes a fresh look at English fiction produced in the 1950s. By looking at a range of authors, he shows that the novel of the period was far more diverse and formally experimental than previous accounts have suggested.

Pulp
Pulp

Author: Robin Talley

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 1488095272

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“Suspenseful parallel lesbian love stories deftly illuminate important events in LGBTQ history” in the New York Times–bestselling author’s YA novel (Kirkus Reviews). In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real. Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires, and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity. In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times–bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we’ve come and how much farther we have to go.

The Caine Mutiny
The Caine Mutiny

Author: Herman Wouk

Publisher: Garden City, N.Y. Doubleday 1951.

Published: 1951

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13:

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Each decade new readers discover the characters and curious activities aboard the U.S.S. "Caine in this classic tale of pathos, humor, and scope.