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The Culture of the Cold War
by
"Without the Cold War, what's the point of being an American?" As if in answer to this poignant question from John Updike's Rabbit at Rest, Stephen Whitfield examines the impact of the Cold War—and its dramatic ending—on American culture in an updated version of his highly acclaimed study. In a new epilogue to this second edition, he extends his analysis from the McCarthyi
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Paperback, 288 pages
Published
April 22nd 1996
by Johns Hopkins University Press
(first published 1990)
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Whitfield does a good job of incorporating cultural themes, events, and ideals into the greater narrative of the Cold War. The strengths are his chapters on movies. Whitfield is often at odds with film scholars who interpret these films with an aesthetic perspective whereas his interpretation is based on political history. These revaluations of film from the 1950s and 60s are worth the price of admission.
A major flaw is the portrayal of presidents. Whitfield's analysis of Eisenhower, Kennedy, an ...more
A major flaw is the portrayal of presidents. Whitfield's analysis of Eisenhower, Kennedy, an ...more
The first one hundred pages and the last forty were really great. The rest was superfluous.
Domestic anti-communism manifests in culture during the 1950s
the title of this book is a bit misleading. The Cold War ended around 1989-90, but Whitfield takes us up to around 1965 in this book. It is an interesting look at the culture of the early war, including books, movies and music. Without footnotes, I question some of his assertions, but he does make some good points. His personal leanings are a little too evident, especially early in the book.
Great Book
I used this book in a research for a literary paper I was writing for my multi-Ethnic Literature class. I had a fifteen page paper on Analysis of Philip Roth's "Goodbye, Columbus" I need some historical background from the time period it took place. It was a great help. It is for anyone who needs to look back on the era, or who did not live through it. It is eye opening. It is a must read! For everyone who did not live through it and votes now! ...more
I used this book in a research for a literary paper I was writing for my multi-Ethnic Literature class. I had a fifteen page paper on Analysis of Philip Roth's "Goodbye, Columbus" I need some historical background from the time period it took place. It was a great help. It is for anyone who needs to look back on the era, or who did not live through it. It is eye opening. It is a must read! For everyone who did not live through it and votes now! ...more
The credibility of this work is compromised from the lack of footnotes for some astounding points. I loved the first chapter. I snoozed through the rest with the exception of some interesting stuff here and there.
Sep 30, 2015
AskHistorians
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One of the better histories of "cold war culture."
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lame anecdotal attempt at trying to re-create a cultural milieu.
***4.5 stars***
meh
badly written, well researched
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