[.ca] The Fifties Chronicle (ISBN 1412711878)

The American Way, just picture it:
Very much a nostalgic look backwards rather than a dry academic survey of the Fifties but this was dictated by the editorial format, which is picture and caption, based. Each year has a six-page introduction followed by spreads that all have a colored panel on the left with text relating to events that happened each month or day. The rest of each spread is devoted to photos and graphics with comprehensive captions. I rather liked the way pages mix the news events with pop culture and everyday living. For instance the spread on for part of March 1954 has six images, a sport and news photo (about Salk polio vaccine) a photo of blues singer Joe Turner, a book jacket, an LP cover (actually celebrating the work of cover designer Jim Flora) and last, an Archie comic book cover. They all get long captions that fortunately have something to say and give plenty of background information. Many spreads have additional colored panels for a longer look at a personality or event. You can just browse the pages or look up something in the comprehensive twenty-five-page index. Another reason I like this book is the excellent production quality. The paper is good quality and the layout simple and straightforward. There are about a thousand images, news photos in black and white and some color but all the pop culture items are in color. It is these graphics, movie posters, book and magazine covers, comics, record covers, ads that frequently make the pages sparkle. Overall a lovely book and made all the more worthwhile because I bought it at a very reasonable price. Take the trouble to check out the title with Amazon's More Buying Choices or internet book comparison sites and you'll be surprised at some bargain prices. BTW there is a Sixties volume, too.