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David Halberstam
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The Fifties Paperback – May 10, 1994

by David Halberstam (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,488 ratings
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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
Previous page
  1. Print length
    848 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ballantine Books
  4. Publication date
    May 10, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    5.48 x 1.58 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0449909336
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0449909331
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"In retrospect," writes David Halberstam, "the pace of the fifties seemed slower, almost languid. Social ferment, however, was beginning just beneath this placid surface." He shows how the United States began to emerge from the long shadow of FDR's 12-year presidency, with the military-industrial complex and the Beat movement simultaneously growing strong. Television brought not only situation comedies but controversial congressional hearings into millions of living rooms. While Alfred Kinsey was studying people's sex lives, Gregory Pincus and other researchers began work on a pill that would forever alter the course of American reproductive practices. Halberstam takes on these social upheavals and more, charting a course that is as easy to navigate as it is wide-ranging.

From the Inside Flap

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

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (May 10, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 848 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0449909336
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0449909331
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.36 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.48 x 1.58 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,488 ratings

About the author

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David Halberstam

David Halberstam

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David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has chronicled the social, political, and athletic life of America in such bestselling books as The Fifties, The Best and the Brightest, and The Amateurs. He lives in New York.

Photo by William H. Mortimer (ebay.com, front of photo, back of photo) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
3,488 global ratings
A Great Insight Into a Decade That Changed America
5 Stars
A Great Insight Into a Decade That Changed America
Someone should have commissioned David Halberstam to write books summarizing each decade in recent history. The acclaimed author shares stories that highlighted the decade from politics to cultural issues. He describes the Cold War Korea and Vietnam but also looks at the significance of the desegregation, the sexual revolution and the Feminist movement. He looks at the significance of the auto industry and how it changed from providing basic transportation to being a status symbol. We learn about the politics inside the White House during critical moments as well as how leisure time changed.Academics might argue that the book isn’t about history, but it shares enough stories that allow you to get a sense of how the nation changed during the decade. If I was writing high school curriculum, I would assign this book to students and then a more academic book. Students would benefit from both versions.
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Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, easy read takes you chronologically through the 50's
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
Well written and researched. Provides lots of behind the scenes information that is probably unknown to those of us having lived in the 50's.
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Sky Kight
4.0 out of 5 stars Dense, but good.
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
The book is written as a collection of historical events from the fifties. If that’s what you’re looking for, it’s a great book. If not, watch the documentary based off the book instead.

The author writes mini biographies for every person mentioned, which becomes repetitive after a while. Eisenhower’s childhood doesn’t really matter when talking about the fifties, but the book is still good regardless. Halberstam does, however, do a great job at being unbiased as possible. He neither glorifies the fifties and openly discusses the many problems it had. However, he also acknowledges that they were a prosperous, optimistic time for many and that the social mores we ascribe to the decade were already beginning to break down.

I would’ve preferred more information about what it was like to live in the fifties from a modern perspective. However, even this would’ve been subjective given the fact that the book was published in the late nineties. Again, the documentary is better if that’s what you want.

Either way, I learned a lot from the book. A lot of the issues facing people in the fifties seem uncanny modern. The core thesis of the book was interesting and holds water. I’m glad I purchased it.
4 people found this helpful
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OLD1mIKE
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Interesting, Informative and easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2016
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The Fifties by David Halberstam

Incredibly interesting. Informative. Easy to read. Changing topics with each chapter makes the book less intimidating than the 800 page size implies. Recommended for anyone interested in History and especially for those capable of connecting the dots from the 50's to the 60's, to the 70's and beyond.

The fifties were a transitional decade. In previous decades, important cultural issues seem to stop at the end of each decade. The roaring twenties ended with the depression of the 30's. The depression ended at the 40's with WWII. But issues in the fifties were the seeds for issues dominating our culture for the next fifty years. The Cold War. Korea and the Vietnam conflicts. The development of the hydrogen bomb and intercontinental delivery systems. Brown vs the Board of Education, desegregation and Equal Rights, the sexual revolution and Feminist rights. The car industry grew from simple transportation to high power status symbols. With increased mobility, veterans moved to suburban communities like Levittown (envisioned and built by William Levitt) and entrepreneurs like Kemmons Wilson built Holiday Inn and created the modern motel industry. Ray Kroc took a small popular California resturant chain and essentially created the Fast Food industry. TV grew from a novelty gadget to being a central part of family entertainment, the most effective method to advertise, created the Consumer Society and became the most effective political tool since the soap box. Music went from parent approved, to Elvis Presley and Rock-in-Roll. Add Eisenhower, Kruschev, Nixon, John and Allen Dulles, Gen. Macarthur, McCarthy Hearings, Sputnik, U2 Spy Planes, CIA Covert Op's and a host of other topics and characters too numerous to mention. Not just a nostalgic journey. Halberstam adds insight to why society and politics changed. Along the way you realize how much has changed while so much stayed the same.
51 people found this helpful
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Therese M.
5.0 out of 5 stars 50’s
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
Great story telling. A bit of a eclectic mix of the history channel, social movements presented on PBS, and Rolling Stone. His style made for easy reading.
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James R. Acker
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history of the fifties.
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book exceeded my wildest hopes when I bought it. Incredibly well written, riveting really.
The author goes into aspects of the fifties that most don’t. There is of course the politics, the technology breakthroughs, the change in time.
I was born in the mid fifties, but of course was not much aware of the things going on at the time until I was older and history in school almost never goes into recent history in any meaningful way. This book fills a lot of holes for me, and is very coherent, putting together the pieces as a whole.
I learned a LOT more in depth about incidents and happenings in the fifties that I thought I knew about.
He uses anecdotes, and quotes (often humorous, or insightful quotes) and when necessary for context, goes outside the fram of the fifties, when needed to help the reader understand the origins and/or results of decisions, and happenings.

It was really a joy to read and I am definitely going to reread it sometime soon. My only gripe, is that it ended, but also it ended so abruptly and without a sense of a summary I wondered if the electronic book had a bug in it. I hate that kindle counts addendums, indexes, etc as part of the book...I was up to 83% or so, when the book ended.

It’s a good long book, and I kinda wished it never ended.
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Top reviews from other countries

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henryc
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read and comprehensive view over a crucial decade
Reviewed in Italy on August 7, 2019
Verified Purchase
A cutting edge book sheding light over the mechanism started during the fifties and dooming at least the following two decades of American and world history. A must read.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars All that you need to know about the fifties
Reviewed in India on December 13, 2016
Verified Purchase
Gives a wonderful insight into a happening decade i adore halberstam's writing
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伊藤よしひろ
5.0 out of 5 stars アメリカ50年代を描く、大河小説のようなドキュメンタリー
Reviewed in Japan on May 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
Kindle版　ファイルサイズ： 6745 KB　紙の本の長さ： 654 ページ
出版社: Open Road Media (2012/12/18）ASIN: B00AFVEYRY　のレビュー

　1993年に発表された著作、ということは、この本があつかっている年代の40年後、著者が60歳ちかくになって書かれたものである。つまり、大部分のアメリカの読者にとっては、すでによく知られている事件、あるいは忘れてしまった、忘れたい事件を扱っているわけである。当時知られていなかった裏面も90年代には明らかになっている。しかし、この本の語り口は、後知恵で当時の人々をばっさばっさと切りまくる筆致ではない。そうではなく、さまざまな運命に翻弄された人々をニュートラルに見つめる語り口である。

　結果として、イデオロギーで断罪せず、熱狂的な世論に左右されず、とても冷静な語り口になっている。ただし、日本の読者としては、このあとどうなったの？　と、ほっぽりだされた気分になる話題も多々あった。ニクソンやケネディがその後どうなったか、巨大企業GMがその後どうなったか、アメリカとソ連の宇宙開発競争がその後どうなったか、そんことはわたしも知っている。しかし、よく知らない人物や事件については、その後どうなったか不明なことが多少あった。

　本書で一番不便なことは、各章のタイトルがないことである。おそらく著者としては、小説をよむように、1950年代という時代の流れを見てもらいたかったのだろう。次に何が起こるか、関連する事件はなにかを知らされず、予見を捨てて読んでもらいたかったのだろう。その意図はかなり成功している。しかし、読み返す時に不便ですねえ。索引で人物名や追っていけるが、名前忘れた人なんかは、どこに書いてあったのか探すのに苦労する。

　ともかく、1950年代のアメリカを知るために、よいガイドであった。軍事力も科学もポップ・カルチャーも単独首位であり、無尽蔵と思えるほどエネルギーと資金があった時代であったのだ。登場する人物たちは、みんなエネルギッシュで向上心と野心があり、おまけにコミュニケーション能力もあって、少々ヘキエキする時もあったけれど。
3 people found this helpful
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garry johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars great book.
Reviewed in Australia on April 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
only half read so far but am really liking it. have learnt so much about how the US developed post WW2. the individuals and companies like holiday inn that grew from one guys road trip and the incredible builders and retailers that changed the country. very well written and always interesting. can really recommend this book to anyone interested in US history.
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salsa bandit
5.0 out of 5 stars the fabulous fifties
Reviewed in Canada on September 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
having been alive in the fifties but too young to really know what was happening, i thought it would be interesting to read dh's book and find out what i had missed. i was right; it was very interesting and turns out that i missed a lot. halberstam casts a wide net that includes just about every aspect of 50's culture from the development of the hydrogen bomb to the ascent of elvis, from the rise of big box stores and levittown subdivisions to the kinsey report, from the korean war to the rise of general motors, from betty friedan to mickey spillane, from....well, you've got the point. actually, a good title for this book would be, "everything you ever wanted to know about the fifties but were afraid to ask". in addition to being all-inclusive, the story is written in an engaging, down-to-earth manner which would, i think, appeal to just about every reader. to make a long (and very enjoyable) story short, i had no idea the extent to which the 50's shaped not only my own generation, but future generations down to the present.

a great read, well worth the time and effort.
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