A great look at the "good old days."

books:


	• Going Home to the Fifties Bill Yenne Last Gasp, 2005 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Let's go home to suburbia!

"Going Home to the Fifties" is a delight for the eyes; especially for those Baby Boomers who were often referred to as the "luckiest generation" because of the post-war prosperity being enjoyed at the time.

Mom wasn't home every day when we got home from school because she was a "career girl"; the only working mother I knew at the time. My parents were not Ward & June Cleaver, but I had a wonderful childhood!

The house was always immaculate; even though there were four young boys living at home. We had a nanny who sat with us after school and she was my surrogate mother.

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A great look at the "good old days."

I've been fascinated with the 50's since I was a child. Almost everything I've read on the 50's has been clouded with cynicism. While reading this book, I really felt like I was transported back in time and into the minds of people who were living in this time. I felt it did a great job of explaining "materialism" and "housewives" (that had normally gotten such a bad reputation). I just don't think I can say enough good things about this book. I'm glad I bought it, and will hopefully share it with others who share my fascination and enthusiasm.

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Skims The Surface Nicely

This book has some nice vintage advertsing art in it, but I must say the text is pretty light-duty and seems to be aimed at young readers. There are also several typos and some wrong information. The book definitely has merit, but there are books that cover aspects of the same subject with much greater depth, like Thomas Hine's "Populuxe", Lesley Jackson's "Contemporary", Michelle Gringeri-Brown's "Atomic Ranch" and, for the serious historian, David Halberstam's definitive tome "The Fifties." But as an introduction to the 1950's lifestyle for someone new to the subject, this book works just fine.

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It's the non-stop ultimate!

"Going Home to the Fifties" offers a very charming and engaging look back to the most prosperous decade in history. It's not a history book, but rather a "keen" review of the times and how the changes following WWII defined the era. I particularly like how the book starts off asking, "What were the Fifties?" and "When did the Fifties actually begin?" It also helps the reader understand that, while today the Fifties are criticized for being too conservative and suppressive, people living back then were quite privileged. Families were enjoying luxuries and amenities only dreamed of by previous generations, especially coming out of the '30s and '40s where Americans had to deal with the hardships of the depression and war. The Fifties really were simpler times and this book lets you experience its joys all over again, or for the very first time.

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reviews: page 1, 2

With the postwar economic boom, a vast middle class emerged. Suburbs exploded across the country, and the new industrial complex cranked out cars, appliances, and home furnishings in record numbers. Here is an idealized neighborhood of the period, with schools, roads, and commuter trains to the homes, kitchens, and backyards ? all drawn from the fantasy worlds created by advertising. Color photos and illustrations are featured in this presentation of the ideal of 1950s suburban living. From houses to cars, to individual rooms and lawns, an entire industry was created to instruct a newlycreated middle class on what ideal living should be.

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