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The Fifties
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List Price: $17.95
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Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.92
EAN: 9780449909331
ISBN: 0449909336
Label: Ballantine Books
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 816
Publication Date: 1994-05-10
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: 1994-05-10
Studio: Ballantine Books
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Editorial Reviews:
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The Fifties is a sweeping social, political, economic, and cultural history of the ten years that Halberstam regards as seminal in determining what our nation is today. Halberstam offers portraits of not only the titans of the age: Eisenhower Dulles, Oppenheimer, MacArthur, Hoover, and Nixon, but also of Harley Earl, who put fins on cars; Dick and Mac McDonald and Ray Kroc, who mass-produced the American hamburger; Kemmons Wilson, who placed his Holiday Inns along the nation's roadsides; U-2 pilot Gary Francis Powers; Grace Metalious, who wrote Peyton Place; and "Goody" Pincus, who led the team that invented the Pill.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The panoramic view...
Comment: A magnificent synthesis of the political, economic and popular history of a decade in which America assumed the mantle of a global power. Halberstam says in his preface that it may have been the black and white still photos that documented the decade in contrast to the video, and color that was to follow that lead many to remember it as a decade of post-war tranquility. But his vignettes of the varying facets of life over this period belie that conclusion. For those that lived through the decade Halberstam's book is a wonderful recap of events, some intensely remembered, some partially, and some completely forgotten. And for those who didn't, whose perceptions border on it being a "distant mirror," that is as old as the 14th Century, it too is deeply rewarding since certain events and attitudes so closely mirror events today.
In the political sphere, on the domestic front, America moves out "from under the shadow of FDR" with Truman's victory over Dewey in '48. There were several domestic currents throughout the decade, from the use of "fear" to govern, as exemplified by the communist witch hunts of Senator Joe McCarthy as well as the "files" kept by the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover on the politicians of the era. More positively, this was the decade that commenced the resolution of America's Dilemma, to use Gunnar Myrdal's phrase, the rise of the Civil Right's movement, starting with the Supreme Court "Brown vs. the Board of Education" decision. Halberstam covers the murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott, Martin Luther King, and President Eisenhower's use of troops in the Little Rock High School desegregation effort in 1957. Many people were introduced to the political process via the first televised congressional hearings, lead by Estes Kefauver.
In the international sphere, the decade commenced with the Korean War, a subject that Halberstam has recently explored in far greater detail in his "The Coldest Winter." There is the development of the H-bomb, and the belief among the American political class that the Russians were still years away from obtaining it. Particularly relevant today, and worth the purchase of the book, are the chapters on the overthrown of the democratically elected government of Iran by the CIA, lead by the "Quiet American" himself, Kermit Roosevelt. (the expression was coined by Kim Philby, son of Abdul Aziz Al Saud's confidant - Harry St. John Philby). The following year the democratically elected government in Guatemala was likewise overthrown by the CIA. Halberstam stresses the complicity of silence by the media in the coup. Meanwhile, in Indochina, the French play out their denouement, and America's role commences. Later chapters cover the "space race" with the Russians, as well as the revolution in Cuba, bringing Castro to power.
In the economic sphere, he has several chapters devoted to the initiation of developments that remains in place, by in large, today. There was the change in retailing, as lead by the Korvettes store, and the rise of the suburban mall. The "fast-food" restaurant was started, as exemplified by McDonald's and managed by Ray Kroc. The first "chains" in the lodging industry were created, by Kemmon Wilson, of Holiday Inn. The modern advertising agency was created by David Ogilvy. Particularly in light of today's developments, Halberstam clarified the famous misquote about "What is good for General Motors is good for the nation," and covered what was the consolidation of America's "essential" industry.
In the popular culture category, few "touchstones" were overlooked. There were the plays of Tennessee Williams where Marlon Brando rose to fame. Literature took a "beat" turn, lead by Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. The initial phase of the "sexual revolution" commenced, led by Alfred Kinsey's Report, as well as the advocates of birth control, Mary Sanger and Katherine McCormick. In the music field Halberstam describes the rise of BB King, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis; on TV it was the Ed Sullivan show, James Dean, Ozzie & Harriet. Intellectuals who are all too relevant today are described: C. Wright Mills and David Riesman. In more popular books, it was the era of "Peyton Place" and "The Feminine Mystique" which depicted the dissatisfactions of suburban wives. The improbable relationship of Marilyn Monroe with both Arthur Miller and Joe Dimaggio is also covered.
Overall, a remarkable tour de force by someone who lived through the decade, and has placed it in perspective for the rest of us. Halberstam's style is authoritative, and lively, and I've not understood the grousing of some of the other reviewers. Consider some of the quotes which summarize a person or an event: When Eisenhower was asked by a woman if he had met MacArthur, he responded: "Not only have I met him, Ma'am; I studied dramatics under him for five years in Washington and for four years in the Philippines." Concerning his competitors, there is the vintage "Krocism" from the founder of McDonald's: "If they were drowning to death, I'd put the hose in their mouth." And for those who see a "distant mirror" of today's events in the 50's, consider: "Administration officials had few moral qualms either about their role or about deceiving the American press and people. They saw themselves in an apocalyptic struggle with Communism in which normal rules of fair play did not apply." (p 371). "Because the enemy was cruel and totalitarian, we were justified in responding in kind. Our survival demanded it. There were no restraints on the other side; therefore there should be no restraints on us." (p 372). Finally, a vital quote from Eisenhower himself: "You begin to see this thing isn't wholly the defense of this country, but only more money for some who are already fatcats."
A wonderful, well-written encyclopedic effort. The Fifties is an essential read, not only to learn about that vital decade, but to see a reflection of our current dilemmas, for as Faulkner said: "The past is not dead, it is not even the past."
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Sloppily written and tendentious page-turner...
Comment: Doesn't Fawcett Columbine employ copy-editors? This is one manuscript that needed a good polishing, but didn't receive it. I realize that in any book of over seven-hundred pages there will be errata...but holy man-boobed Jesus, I expect better of a Harvard-educated Jewboy like David Halberstam and his "professional" publisher. Sentence fragments, careless misspellings, and pleonasms abound...which prove a constant annoyance, despite their being amply countervailed by the book's narrative competence.
The Fifties is eminently readable, and stacked to the gills with information that would come in mighty handy on Jeopardy! Each chapter covers a main theme, personality, or historical episode, sometimes in an intercalary fashion with respect to the overall chronology. The book is almost never dull, and the omnipresent political bias of Halberstam is not difficult to suss out and control for.
It ain't art, but it is a highly worthwhile read that will fill in a bunch of blanks on a decade that most people today either romanticize or are completely ignorant of. And I bet it will act as a springboard for more specialized, in-depth reading on one of the many subjects presented.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Can't be trusted
Comment: I picked this book up, and read the first few pages, getting to the point where Halberstam mentions the perjury conviction of Alger Hiss. Now, as Herbert L. Packer once wrote in Ex-Communist Witnesses:Four Studies in Fact Finding, the trial proved Hiss's guilt as thoroughly as a legal proceeding can prove anything. And Allen Weinstein, in Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case, found even more evidence of Hiss's guilt. For a historian to pretend, as Halberstam does, that there's some doubt about Hiss's guilt, and not give evidence, tells me that he's writing propoganda rather than history. When he adds in gratuitous gay-bashing (Whittaker Chambers was bisexual. What's that got to do with Hiss's guilt or innocence?), I drop the book in disgust. Your mileage may vary.
So read this book if you want, but remember the author is a liar, and don't use it as a reliable source. Check other sources about anything he says, including "The sky is blue," because he isn't honest.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An Encyclopedic Look at the Fifties
Comment: Have you always thought that the Fifties were merely a quiescent interlude between World War II and the Sixties? Think again. In this sweeping look at the decade, David Halberstam examines the trends and events that made the Fifties a very interesting and eventful time.
The book opens with a look at what was going on in the country in the late Forties, in the years just after World War II. The late Franklin D. Roosevelt still cast a long shadow over America and its politics, and this enabled Harry Truman to win election in his own right in 1948 and left the Republicans wondering if they would ever regain the White House. There was also apprehension about Communist moles in the government. On the world stage, the Cold War was deepening: Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, the Soviets got their first atomic bomb in 1949, and that same year China fell to the Communists.
This tense world situation made Truman determined to stop the advance of Communism by intervening in Korea. The U.S. fought the Korean War for three years to a stalemate, and Eisenhower managed to obtain an armistice six months after he became the first Republican president in 20 years.
Halberstam takes a thorough look at many of the developments (and their consequences) of the nascent suburban and mass culture: greater reliance on automobiles, Levittowns, increasing affluence, conformity and individuality, television, restaurants such as McDonald's, motels such as Holiday Inn, the decline of thrift (and increased purchasing on credit), the greater importance of sports in society, rock and roll music, and the birth control pill.
Civil rights was a recurring theme during the decade, especially after 1954. Brown v. Board of Education was decided by the Supreme Court, Emmett Till was murdered, Rosa Parks made her stand, Martin Luther King became one of the leaders of the civil rights movement, and Central High School in Little Rock was integrated.
The Cold War became even more tense at the end of the Fifties, with the launch of Sputnik and the space race that followed it, the establishing of a Communist beachhead in Cuba, and the capture of a U.S. pilot who was flying a U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union.
Yes, as other reviews have noted, the book is written from a liberal perspective, but if you can filter out the bias, there is much to be learned from this comprehensive look at a decade that gave us much of what we take for granted today.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Fifties, audio book
Comment: The audio was presented with the ad specifying it was practically new, and only two tapes had been used. Well, the tapes were not rewound, and one tape was totally useless. I called my credit card company and also the sender. She gave me credit for the book and the shipping, however I needed the book for a course required essay. The sender had not checked out the book to make sure it was usable, and took the word of a friend. Bad business. She said she was going to send me a book along with the credit, I have not received anything as yet. Marlene Palmer
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