Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
149th out of 538 books
—
81 voters
The Fifties
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...more
Paperback, 816 pages
Published
May 10th 1994
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1993)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,246)
I just love this book. I've read it before but I have it on my nightstand now, probably as a result of the confluence between "Mad Men" being back on AMC (oh my goodness, WHAT is going on with Betty?!) and my parents' ongoing Great PreDeath Cleanout of Books. It's a great book for just dipping into and reading; you can easily skip around, and/or just read the chapters that intrigue you. I have to say I find the book rather slapdash in that sense--the chapters usually are stand-alone essays rathe...more
Halberstam's epic masterpiece is a colossal historic narrative of the 50's that combines his usual incisive social commentary with sharp insight, weaving together seamlessly throughout. Always lively and analytical, The Fifties is arranged so well chronologically that it has a cinematic feel to it. It is easy for the reader to visualize the activity in each of the chapters - and it becomes addictive, compulsive reading after a short while.
The main, or overarching theme, of the book that he retu...more
The main, or overarching theme, of the book that he retu...more
I have read other books written by David Halberstam, but I think that this one is my favorite, in part because I've always loved the 50's; the cars, the music, the movies... That isn't to say that everything was perfect, far from it, but that can be said of any time period. I have never been all that enamored with the 60's, and this book helped me understand why; so much of what those in the 60's took credit for was simply continuing what had already begun in the 50's: civil rights, the women's...more
I finally finished this massive tome (730 pages) after borrowing it from my future father-in-law around Christmas.
The good: It's an often fascinating look at the culture, politics, and society of the 1950s. Many things we now take for granted (fast food, Elvis, the 'burbs, TV news and game shows, etc) are traced back to their beginnings in this decade. I absolutely loved those chapters.
The bad: Parts of this book desperately needed a good editor. There are many missing words, poorly formed sente...more
The good: It's an often fascinating look at the culture, politics, and society of the 1950s. Many things we now take for granted (fast food, Elvis, the 'burbs, TV news and game shows, etc) are traced back to their beginnings in this decade. I absolutely loved those chapters.
The bad: Parts of this book desperately needed a good editor. There are many missing words, poorly formed sente...more
This is a comprehensive history of post-World War II America, covering political, economic, and social developments of the period. The book is very accessible to the general reader, and the author does a good job of showing how the 1950s represented both continuity and change in American life. My only complaint about the book is its organization; the chapters ranged from politics to economics to social life and then back to politics again. I think the book could have been arranged topically, and...more
Always liked Halberstam's style, makes history real fun reading. Areas I really liked
were the start of the franchises that we take today as just being part of the
woodwork, and often derisively so.
However when McDonalds, Holiday Inn and the like got started there was
a real need for their services, a clean, cheap place to feed the family, and
reliable place to stay. Fascinating how they grew and grew. I recall
going on an Indian Guides field trip when I was a little kid to
McDonalds and they show...more
I tried. I really did. I wanted to be a good person and finish this book. But I just couldn't....I just got too bogged down in the details, and I think that I really needed the Cliff's Notes version. The writing was good, but the subject matter just wasn't for me. I still feel the shame.
2 likes · like · see review
I read this book for a U.S. history course of the 1929-1959 period. It's written by a former journalist and that certainly shows in the writing. It flows very quickly and easily like a giant journalism piece of an entire decade. Halberstam focuses mostly on political and cultural history, while also giving attention to economic and social history. I think his chapters on political history were the most interesting ones in the book. I didn't pay much attention to the cultural history simply becau...more
This was a remarkable sweeping description of an entire decade that shaped postwar America. Political, Entertainment, and Industrial changes that propelled America into the role of global superpower. I loved how Halberstam weaved together all the threads that made the fabric of the world in which we live. From nuclear research to Milton Berle, from Eisenhower to McDonald's, from the creation of hotel chains starting with Holiday Inn to the grand investigations into communism at every level of go...more
This book has been re-issued several times. This copy was provided by Open Road Media and Netgalley.
This a lengthy book that attempts to cover an entire decade. The fifties did indeed bring about a great many changes to our country.
This book reminds us of how suburbia took hold, motel chains like Holiday Inn took off , as well as McDonald's.
We revisited the cold war , McCarthyism, Eisenhower's administration, Korea, desegregation, television, music, the pill, popular actors and movies, bombs, C...more
This a lengthy book that attempts to cover an entire decade. The fifties did indeed bring about a great many changes to our country.
This book reminds us of how suburbia took hold, motel chains like Holiday Inn took off , as well as McDonald's.
We revisited the cold war , McCarthyism, Eisenhower's administration, Korea, desegregation, television, music, the pill, popular actors and movies, bombs, C...more
ENORMOUSLY ENJOYABLE.
“It was, in fact, an astonishing age of abundance…”—page 496
Reading David Halberstam’s book, ‘The Fifties,’ was like visiting with a long lost friend. The memories weren’t always pleasant, but they were always precious. Pity the reader who wouldn’t like to revisit the greatest decade in the history of forever: the decade that bracketed most of their teenage years.
Recommendation: For anyone who [fondly] remembers the 1950s; even those of us who never really did believe that ‘...more
“It was, in fact, an astonishing age of abundance…”—page 496
Reading David Halberstam’s book, ‘The Fifties,’ was like visiting with a long lost friend. The memories weren’t always pleasant, but they were always precious. Pity the reader who wouldn’t like to revisit the greatest decade in the history of forever: the decade that bracketed most of their teenage years.
Recommendation: For anyone who [fondly] remembers the 1950s; even those of us who never really did believe that ‘...more
I really liked this book, although it wasn't quite as good as I expected. It made a good trip down memory lane, though!
I loved this social, cultural, political, and economic history of the 1950s. Each of the chapters can stand alone and readers can read all 730 pages straight through or skip around to find topics of their interest. The rise of the Cold War, the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement, the growth of suburbs, McDonald's, Holiday Inns, rock and roll, Eisenhower, and McCarthy--it's all in here. The stories range from entertaining, to depressing, to uplifting and the mini-biographies are fascinating....more
1 like · like · see review
This is a gigantic book. Halberstam cycles through the political, military, social, technological and cultural history of the decade. In particular, he hits on Truman, Eisenhower, the Korean war, McCarthyism, General Motors, Television, nuclear weapons and the civil rights movement. Remarkably, it all weaves together into a seamlessly readable story. As Halberstam was a journalist, it tends to touch on the role of the press in most of the events of the decade. The list of author interviews that...more
When I read this book I realized how fortunate I have been to be born in 1943. By the time I was 20? all the girls at the party were on birth control pills created in the 50s! C. Wright Mills' "The Power Elite" told the truth about the country and its phony claims to being a Democracy. UCLA cost $50 a semester plus books. Beatniks happened. Polio was defeated. Black liberation was part of the ethos despite J. Edgar Hoover's Fascist dreams. David Halberstam was one of our most accomplished corres...more
This thing read like a college textbook. There was no storytelling whatsoever; just a bunch of facts I'd already learned from a college textbook. I had expected a bit more dramatic narrative because I'd read Halberstam's earlier book, 1964, and really enjoyed it. This book was OK but it just seemed dry by comparison. I did learn some random trivia about Peyton Place author Grace Metalious, so you can bet I'll figure out a way to work her into my next cocktail party small talk: "You know..she dra...more
This is one of the best and most entertaining history books I have ever read. It covers more than just the fifties, though. It starts in the forties with the seeds of those changes and trends that shaped our culture during the fifties and goes into the early part of the sixties and ends with the beginnings of the flower power revolution.
It is a very long book. It covers so much it has to be. I recommend reading this as an ebook because the trade paperback is rather heavy. You will not regret the...more
It is a very long book. It covers so much it has to be. I recommend reading this as an ebook because the trade paperback is rather heavy. You will not regret the...more
If you happen to love American History as much as I do, please read this fabulous book! I just completed the 3rd re-read of David Halberstam's in depth look at the culture of the 1950's. Aside from the fact that he was a marvelous writer (who is sorely missed) -- Mr. H tells us everything we should know about America in the mid 20th century. How (and why) Playboy got started, how Walmart came into being, the alienation caused by the deluge of white-bread television that fostered the myth of the...more
David Halberstam is truly a master story teller. His book on the fifties tries to show that a real cultural revolution was happening within the 1950's and this is not a return to normalcy like the 1920's. The book tracks the end of World War 2 with Truman's efforts and the election against Dewey before moving into the 1950's. The development of the Super bomb during that time period is especially relevant to the 1950's. Despite the start of the 50's having the Korean War Halberstam points out th...more
There is more to the 1950s than "Leave it to Beaver"
The Good
This book is a clear, engaging and provocative look at a time that is usually overlooked in favor of the 1960s (i.e. Civil Rights) and the 1940s (i.e. World War II). To be honest, I knew next to nothing about this time period, my entire view predicated on shows like "Leave it to Beaver" (both as an example of the times and the knowledge that life was nothing like it). Halberstam does an overview of the entire decade and covers a wide ra...more
The Good
This book is a clear, engaging and provocative look at a time that is usually overlooked in favor of the 1960s (i.e. Civil Rights) and the 1940s (i.e. World War II). To be honest, I knew next to nothing about this time period, my entire view predicated on shows like "Leave it to Beaver" (both as an example of the times and the knowledge that life was nothing like it). Halberstam does an overview of the entire decade and covers a wide ra...more
Apr 22, 2011
Erik Graff
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Americans
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
history
Everything I've ever read by David Halberstam has been rewarding and everything, except his early and probably most important book, The Best and the Brightest, has been a sheer pleasure. The Best and the Brightest reads most like an academic history. His other history books are more popular in their style, flowing like collections of short stories on a single theme.
The Fifties interested me because that was Dad's decade. He was in his thirties, done with school, back from Europe with a war-bride...more
The Fifties interested me because that was Dad's decade. He was in his thirties, done with school, back from Europe with a war-bride...more
1 like · like · see review
My parents grew up in the fifties, and what I knew of it from their attitudes, those of their parents, and also the memories of both. In David Halberstam's hulking book about the decade, The Fifties, he describes the peaceful, simpler time my family remembered: "The fifties were captured in black and white, most often by still photographers; by contrast, the decade that followed was, more often than not, caught in living color on tape or film. Not surprisingly, in retrospect the pace of the fift...more
This book is nothing short of amazing to me - an epic adventure ride into a decade that was fascinating politically, socially, and culturally. The 60s get all the attention, but Halberstam wrote this book to show how the seeds of the 60s were planted in the 50s.
What makes the 50s even more powerful, as shown by Halberstam, is the way the revolutionary spirit of the decade was glossed over by, or even a reaction to, the extreme conventiality of the decade. The fifties is a decade of contradictio...more
What makes the 50s even more powerful, as shown by Halberstam, is the way the revolutionary spirit of the decade was glossed over by, or even a reaction to, the extreme conventiality of the decade. The fifties is a decade of contradictio...more
Perhaps none of his works so clearly demonstrate that David Halberstam was among the best chroniclers of American History we have ever known. This book takes readers inside one of the most interesting decades of the Twentieth Century and offers an important glimpse into the development of legendary American companies, the emergence of iconic figures, and the beginning of transformative social and cultural movements. A must-read for anyone interested in this important but often overlooked decade.
Vast and very readable. Sometimes the transitions between chapters were very abrupt; I felt like I was reading a series of stories linked only by the fact they happened in the same 10-year period. In the end, it lacked the feeling of "historical sweep" (that was one of the best parts of, for example, Milton Viorst's "Fire in the Streets". I guess the issue is that Halberstam was trying to cram many aspects of this era-- politics, culture and commerce-- into a single book. It was not going to be...more
David Halberstam is one of my favorite authors. I've read most of his books and enjoyed them all. Of course, I have a few favorites and this particular book is one of them. Having been born in the early fifties and growing up in eastern Canada so close to the United States, I can remember some, but not all of the events detailed in his book. For example, doing bomb drills during the Cuban missile crises. I read this book a while ago, but still keep it so I can read it again in the future.
If you think the 1950s was dull era, contaminated with brain dead conformists watching "I Love Lucy" at night, David Halberstam facinating book will make you think differently. Halberstam argues that the seeds of the 1960's counter revolution was planted in the 1950s. Halberstam also details the beginning of such power house industries like McDonalds, Holiday Inn and even the CIA. From the Ike presidency, the Cold War, the Beat Poets and rock and roll, this is a most enjoyable read.
David Halberstam was a giant in my opinion and I have loved every book he ever wrote, including the ones about baseball!!! This window on the era of bomb shelters and President Eisenhower is just stunning. If you remember the 1950s, as I do, it is like time travel.....if you don't remember the 1950s, you will after reading this book. The book has a style that I would call comfortable.........Halberstam was a true storyteller as well as a great historian of the American experience.
My most favorite reading assignment in college and a great read for anyone interested in an excellent, captivating "summary" of that decade. If you're not much of a history buff - it was way more than cars and poodle skirts. I had a week to read this book but I finished it in less than 36 hours because it was fascinating and superbly written. I sat up all night on a Saturday because I couldn't put it down. How many 21 year-olds can say that? Don't answer! ;-)
Helped me understand what my parents young adult life was like, and the earliest part of my childhood that I don't remember. My default reaction to books like this one is positive, but for anyone over 40 an curious to get a sense for what life was like for the generation that made all of this possible, you ought to read it.
After you do, you will no longer wonder why your mother or grandmother is still a bit confused by cell phones and computers!
After you do, you will no longer wonder why your mother or grandmother is still a bit confused by cell phones and computers!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
David Halberstam (April 10, 1934–April 23, 2007) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author known for his early work on the Vietnam War and his later sports journalism.
Halberstam graduated from Harvard University with a degree in journalism in 1955 and started his career writing for the Daily Times Leader in West Point, Mississippi. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, writing for...more
More about David Halberstam...
Halberstam graduated from Harvard University with a degree in journalism in 1955 and started his career writing for the Daily Times Leader in West Point, Mississippi. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, writing for...more
Share This Book
2 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
Jul 29, 2008 09:38pm