The Fifties

The Fifties, by David Halberstam
 
When I was in college in the 1960s, I remember reading an article for a history class on how adolescents were rebelling against society since their predecessors had been forced to work in factories under terrible conditions, and they didn't want to perpetuate the "war cycle". When I saw David Halberstam's The Fifties, I thought this might give me further insight into the roots of the social unrest which marked the 1960s. So I downloaded this e-book to my iPad.

The book explains how the Depression and World War II impacted society. America started developing a social conscience. After the war, soldiers came home and the "Baby Generation" was born (literally and figuratively). Our standard of living improved as new technology - generated from war research - impacted the average American home. The advent of television provided a window on the world. We could see what was actually happening all over. Segregation, Senator McCarthy's red-baiting, Masters and Johnson's study on sex, the space race. Young people began questioning the status quo. The United States would never be the same.

This book is interesting as well as entertaining. It brings back a lot of great memories for those who grew up in this decade, and provides insight for those attempting to understand this chapter in our history. What's more, it chronicles an intellectual and social renaissance in America.
-Carl