The Fifties

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history the 1950s in America!
Review: "The Fifties," is an exceptionally well written history of the turbulent decade that author David Halberstam considers "seminal in determining what our nation is today." Halberstam combines a highly readable historical narrative with insightful social commentary to trace the many complex and controversial people and events which made the sixth decade of the twentieth century so historically important for the United States. From the unexpected triumph of President Harry Truman over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 election, to the coming to power of Kennedy, Khruschev, and Castro at the end of the decade, the reader is witness to the historical and social upheaval of the 1950s: the Korean War, and Truman's controversial firing of General Douglas MacArthur; the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his virulent anti-communist crusade which came to be known as McCarthyism; Alger Hiss, Whittaker Chambers, Richard Nixon, and the House Un-American Activities Committee; the dawn of the space age and America's race for space with the USSR; the anti-establishment movement, personified by Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, and the "Beats;" the establishment of such American institutions as McDonald's, Holiday Inn, and birth control; the coming of rock 'n roll and Elvis Presley, Charles Van Doren and the TV quiz show scandals; and many others. Halberstam paints an extraordinarily detailed and colorful portrait of the middle decade of the 20th century, and explains why it was so pivotal to the way our American culture has developed since. This is a fascinating and highly entertaining book, one which I think is Halberstam's best. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: History Made Interesting
Review: Although writing nonfiction history in an interesting way is difficult, David Halberstam has succeeded here. The amount of research that he did is obviously overwhelmingly large, and he assembles the facts of the events as they happened in such a way that I felt as though I had indeed lived through the Fifties. I liked how each chapter dealt with a different event; this helped me focus my attention more efficiently and keep some of the names straight. I also liked the selection of topics; they seemed varied and comprehensive. Even though certain political stories do have a slant to them, I feel that the wealth and breadth of knowledge makes this book a valuble read for baby boomers and younger folks alike.

Rating:
Summary: marvelous storytelling
Review: Beautiful. One of the most interesting books I have ever read. Halberstam divides his chapters into two (2) parts:
1. description of a specific person (or persons) in history
2. explaining how this particular individual(s) fits into the larger patterns in history

The combination is an awesome ride (or lack of better phrasing). Halmberstam's writing style flows beautifully and is easily understood.

His blend of historical storytelling mixed in with biography (see above) forms a beautiful structure where each chapter can easily be taken off and read separately.

Splendidly done and a -very- worthwhile read. Sparked most of my interest in history, actually.

Rating:
Summary: marvelous storytelling
Review: Beautiful. One of the most interesting books I have ever read. Halberstam divides his chapters into two (2) parts:
1. description of a specific person (or persons) in history
2. explaining how this particular individual(s) fits into the larger patterns in history

The combination is an awesome ride (or lack of better phrasing). Halmberstam's writing style flows beautifully and is easily understood.

His blend of historical storytelling mixed in with biography (see above) forms a beautiful structure where each chapter can easily be taken off and read separately.

Splendidly done and a -very- worthwhile read. Sparked most of my interest in history, actually.

Rating:
Summary: An engrossing overview of an anything-but quiet decade.
Review: David Halberstam has provided the reading public with a highly readable and informative narrative of a decade that both chronologically and curturally gave birth to the last half of the 20th century. The author packs each self-contained chapter with wonderful vignettes,facts,fascinating observations, and biographical sketches that bring his subjects to life. My one disappointment in this book was the author's curious overlooking of the religious landscape of the 50's. One would have thought that figures such as Billy Graham, Fulton Sheen, Norman Vicent Peale, Popes Pius XII and John XXIII, the events leading up to and the calling of the Second Vatican Council as well as the explosive growth of church and synagogue attendance would have warranted a chapter in this otherwise engrossing book.

Rating:
Summary: 50s: Ten Years That Nudged The World
Review: David Halberstam's exhaustive "The Fifties" revealsand clarifies the decade's events and purposes to anyone seeing itthrough the sun-kissed glasses of TV, Broadway, or oldies radio. What seemed to many a peaceful decade lit the fuse for Sixties rage and revolution.

Many of the Sixties' major issues and catalysts dress rehearsed the previous decade, and Halberstam dedicates chapters to them. He addresses the sexual and feminist revolutions through detailed studies of the "Kinsey Report," the evolution of birth control, and circumstances leading to the Playboy magazine and Betty Freidan's "Feminist Mystique." The push for civil rights takes its stand in 1954's "Brown" decision, the 1956 bus boycott and, finally, the school desegration at Little Rock, all among the book's most well-written chapters.

Halberstam wisely weaves the political stories of the decade throughout the narrative, letting the reader breathe with interesting, more familiar stories from the arts (Tennessee Williams, Ricky Nelson, Marlon Brando, James Dean and, of course, Elvis Presley). It addresses the rise of new types of businesses from the ground-level (Holiday Inn, Korvettes, McDonald's) to the top and beyond. General Motors is coronated with deeply researched chapters on its car design, advertising, and competition before their 50s story ends with the failed Corvair.

Heroes and villains switch sides often. Robert Oppenheimer begins as hero whose nuclear research helped win WWII; he ends without job or honor in a Communist-hunting political maelstrom. Joe McCarthy begins as a patriot attacking Communist influence in government, and ends drunken and disgraced. Game show star Charles Van Doren begins as one of TV's first and most admired stars, and ends in obscurity amid one of its most-remembered scandals. Arkansas governor Orval Faubus begins as a centrist bringing blacks more fully into daily life, ending as a model of bigotry and political expediency. Only Dwight Eisenhower, president for most of the 1950s, keeps some of the prestige and honor he entered office with even as his cabinet and government seemed to do some of its finest, also most sinister, work around (sometimes without) him.

A recurring theme throughout the book finds new technologies and higher standards of living crashing against traditional, long-held American ideals. The rise of new appliances, housing, cars, places to go, and things to do conflict with people's need for self-expression and creativity, also to work ethic. Much of Halberstam's chapter on "The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit" addresses this conflict; those exploiting it (from publisher Hugh Hefner to scientist Werner von Braun to "Peyton Place" author Grace Metalious) were celebrated then and, to a lesser degree, now.

Halberstam leaves much unsaid even after 733 pages and 46 chapters. Nothing about the Dodgers and Giants baseball teams' moves to California, a seismic event in a sport then still America's pastime. Nothing about Frank Sinatra's years at Capitol Records (music generally regarded as art). Nothing about the election of Pope John XXIII, the rise of Billy Graham, or much about any religious figure except Dr. Martin Luther King. (The many anti-Catholic, anti-religious opinions quoted in "The Fifties" may reveal bias on its author's part; I hope not.)

Nonetheless, "The Fifties" remains one of the finer historical overviews available about that decade. It tells several related but disparate stories in orderly, compelling fashion, presenting an refreshingly unsentimental look at one of history's most distinctive time periods.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating time dissected by a skilled author
Review: David Halberstram actually contributed a catchphrase to the vernacular, "the best and the brightest," which he used as the title of another book. Not surprisingly for a Pulitzer Prize winner, THE FIFTIES is gracefully written. Not surprising for a man of author Halberstram's reputation, the scholarship displayed is admirable, both in its breadth and in its depth. Any reader with a curiosity about this fascinating decade will finish the book far better informed than at the start. If there is one flaw, it's that the subject is plumbed so comprehensively that just reading this work can, at times, become overwhelming. When it comes to writing, Halberstram is the best and the brightest!

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Summary: Great Insight Into Yesterday's vs. Today's Business World
Review: Given that I was not around for much of The Fifties, I found this book very informative; now I see this book as required reading for any baby boomer.

I found the chapters containing the company histories of McDonald's and Chevrolet the most fascinating. How Ray Kroc et al "discovered" the shake/malt mixer for the mass market was wild! An unbelievably simple idea that seems so obvious today -- but at that time it was lauded as pure genius, somewhere between discovering sliced bread, the umbrella, or the elevator.

Compare and contrast these details with the recent book "The New New Thing," and you'll see how far we have come.

Rating:
Summary: not his best, indeed, perhaps his worst
Review: Halberstam tells a good story, and he does so in this book about the 1950s. Unfortunately, in this book he is content to spout back the conventional wisdom rather than do any new reporting. So what you get is a vivid re-telling of things already known, with his usual depth thrown in.

If this is his worst, it is still very good. Halberstam is one of our truly great writers. It is a solid introduction to a formative decade. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Super ancedotes in the midst of history
Review: Halberstam tells a great story of the fifties and the lead into the sixties via great stories and ancedotes. Easy reading and engrossing. A great history book and fun to read, very insightful as well. Typical Halberstam an editor would be a good idea.