Reviews

Gr 8 Up-Based on Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam's book, this excellent social history provides a personal look at life in the 1950's in the United States. Rich and clear narration that connects the images is provided primarily by Edward Herrmann and sporadically by reporter Halberstam himself. Black-and-white and color newsreels, pertinent television news footage, clear graphics, period music, representative family photos, home movies and major motion picture film clips from the decade are carefully interwoven. This is generally a realistic historical exposition, not a romantic retrospective. The first video begins with the death of FDR and Truman's ending of the war after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fears about Russian communism, atomic warfare, alien invasions and keeping life safe for (white) Americans were counterbalanced with the dream of owning one's own home, helping create the baby boom, allowing the color line to be broken in sports, and acquiring a TV. Selling the American Way is a humorous look at the new consumerist lifestyle. Drive-in churches, TV dinners, motivational research, the beginnings of TV ads, and fascination with the Yankee Clipper took our attention away from the United Fruit Company's exploitation of Guatemala, the beginning of American involvement in Vietnam, and other international issues. The third video covers the dominance of traditional life and women's role in it. Credit cards were introduced, fashion magazines flourished, "Dear Abbey" made its debut, big corporations got bigger, etc. A Burning Desire looks at public repression and private liberties. Here Halberstam chronicles the rise of Hugh Heffner, the glamour of Marilyn Monroe, America's fascination with the Kinsey Report and Margaret Sanger's push for artificial birth control. The fifth segment looks at popular art and artists such as Elvis, B.B. King, 45rpm records, Dizzy Gillespie, Jackson Pollock, Jack Kerouac, Beatniks, et al. The final part states that memories of the 50's are of pleasing white experiences, not of blacks beginning the fight for civil rights and the massive migration from the south to Detroit and Chicago to escape southern discrimination. Southern racism became a national story when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, Medgar Edgars was shot, Martin Luther King, Jr. began preaching and Little Rock (Arkansas) High School was integrated. A must purchase for school libraries for group or individual use.-Scott Johnson, Meridian Community College, MS