This volume serves as an invaluable guide to key political, social, and cultural concepts of the 1950s. This volume covers the entire decade of the 1950s, from the uneasy peace following World War II to the beginnings of cultural discontent that would explode in the 1960s. It highlights key historical, social, and cultural elements of the period, including the Cold War and perceived communist threat; the birth of the middle class and establishment of consumer culture; the emergence of the civil rights movement; and the normalization of youth rebellion and rock and roll. An introduction presents the historical themes of the period, and an alphabetical encyclopedic entries relating to period-specific themes comprises the core reference material in the book. The book also contains a range of primary documents with introductions and a sample Documents Based Essay Question. Other features are a list of "Top Tips" for answering Documents Based Essay Questions, a thematically tagged chronology, and a list of specific learning objectives readers can use to gauge their working knowledge and understanding of the period.

From austerity to the start of the swinging sixties

An eclectic and insightful collection of essays predicated on the hypothesis that popular cultural documents provide unique insights into the concerns, anxieties and desires of their times. 1950s popular culture is analysed by leading scholars and critics such as Christopher Frayling, Mark Jancovich, Kim Newman and David J. Skal.

The continued improvement of roadways and the dawn of the Interstate highway system in the 1950s was a boon to American industry in general and the trucking industry in particular. This marque-by-marque photo collection provides a comprehensive and nostalgic look back at the rapid development of the tractor-trailer rigs that resulted. Manufacturers like GMC, Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, White, Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Diamond T, International, Mack, Autocar, Brockway and Sterling are shown hauling everything from Cadillacs to cabbage across town, up the coast and over mountain passes. Thorough captions describe the development and history of each model as depicted in archival black-and-white and period color photography.

The 1950s was the decade of the Queen’s Coronation and the Festival of Britain; of family shops and pea-souper smogs; listening to the wireless and watching the box; when money was counted in pounds, shillings and pence and weights were in pounds and ounces. It was when children walked to school and ‘six of the best’ was a painful experience; postmen wore uniforms with peaked hats and chimney sweeps rode bikes with their brushes and poles balanced on their shoulders; milk and bread were delivered to your doorstep every morning and orange juice was free for schoolchildren; and when most people still preferred smooth shiny toilet paper to the new absorbent type. The Second World War left Britain in a period of austerity. Yet, born of the relief of the war ending in 1945, there was a spirit of hope for the future and new beginnings, from which grew a climate that was a comforting mix of the traditional past blended with exciting glimpses of an exhilarating future. John Wade records briefly some of the great achievements and events of the 1950s, but concentrates more on what it was like for ordinary British people living their lives during a far from ordinary decade.

The aim of this book is to offer an informed account of changes in the nature of the relationship between play, media and commercial culture in England through an analysis of play in the 1950s/60s and the present day.

Journey back fifty years to explore the decade of baby boomers, the Red scare, and the birth of rock and roll with Robert Rodriguez’s The 1950s’ Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Rock & Roll Rebels, Cold War Crises, and All-American Oddities. America was revving its engines when the fifties came along, and its citizens more than ready for everything the historic decade had to offer. Rodriguez takes you on a spin down memory lane with dozens of top-ten lists filled with amazing, amusing, and even astonishing trivia from the 1950s. Television exploded into the mainstream in the 1950s, and in this book you’ll find kids’ television, shows that were immensely popular then but forgotten now, and potential series that never got off the ground. Film and music history are also well represented, with lists highlighting the fathers of rock and roll and some unlikely recording artists, plus catchphrases from contemporary films and first roles of future stars. Relive the most notorious crimes of the decade, such as the one that inspired the TV show and film The Fugitive, and its big scandals, such as the quiz show debacle and the deportation of Charlie Chaplin. You’ll read about politicians, celebrities, fashion, toys, fads, and disasters. Relearn the hip slang of the time while finding out which tales from the fifties were really tall tales or urban legends that are now debunked. Rodriguez gives you a whole decade’s worth of fun, facts, and all-important memories. It may have been half a century ago, but with The 1950s’ Most Wanted™, it’ll seem like just yesterday.

In the 1950s and 1960s, luxury car buyers, from government ministers to captains of industry, almost invariably bought British. These were stately, dignified, and grand vehicles, with many featuring leather interiors and wood trim. Unfortunately, that market has now largely disappeared and, with it, so have the car-makers themselves. This new book covers cars in the over-3-litre class from the biggest names in British luxury motoring including Alvis, Daimler, and Lagonda, and high-end models from Austin, Rover, and Jaguar. It examines the features and characteristics of these classic cars, as well as explaining why they fell from prominence in the 1970s. Replete with beautiful photography throughout, this book is a loving portrait of the British luxury car, a dearly missed saloon defeated by foreign imports.

E-type Jaguar; Triumph Spitfire; MGA; Austin-Healey – nobody built sports cars like British manufacturers in the 1950s and '60s. There was something very special about the combination of low-slung open two-seater bodywork and spartan interior, a slick sporting gearchange and a throaty exhaust note. This was wind-in-the-hair motoring, and it was affordable by the average young man – at least, until he got married and had a family. MG and Triumph stood out as the market leaders, but many other c companies thrived, from luxury manufacturers like Jaguar and even daimler to other more affordable marques. This colourfully illustrated history tells the exciting story of the British sports car in the 1950s and '60s.

In a timely contribution to current debates over the psychology of boys and the construction of their social lives, On My Honor explores the folk customs of adolescent males in the Boy Scouts of America during a summer encampment in California's Sierra Nevada. Drawing on more than twenty years of research and extensive visits and interviews with members of the troop, Mechling uncovers the key rituals and play events through which the Boy Scouts shapes boys into men. He describes the campfire songs, initiation rites, games, and activities that are used to mold the Scouts into responsible adults. The themes of honor and character alternate in this new study as we witness troop leaders offering examples in structure, discipline, and guidance, and teaching scouts the difficult balance between freedom and self-control. What results is a probing look into the inner lives of boys in our culture and their rocky transition into manhood. On My Honor provides a provocative, sometimes shocking glimpse into the sexual awakening and moral development of young men coming to grips with their nascent desires, their innate aggressions, their inclination toward peer pressure and violence, and their social acculturation. On My Honor ultimately shows how the Boy Scouts of America continues to edify and mentor young men against the backdrop of controversies over freedom of religious expression, homosexuality, and the proposed inclusion of female members. While the organization's bureaucracy has taken an unyielding stance against gay men and atheists, real live Scouts are often more open to plurality than we might assume. In their embrace of tolerance, acceptance, and understanding, troop leaders at the local level have the power to shape boys into emotionally mature men.