Couldn't be a better representative of those important years.
927234
Wonderful.........I've seen many people I know personally and with whom I've performed
2183184
I struggled somewhat with this book, but Id be the first to say that likely has more to do with me than with the writer.  The biographical account favors those with a mind for names and dates and faces spanning great periods of time.  And people who can hold all that information in their heads as they wait for the various story threads to come together.  I can remember no small amount of history books that were force fed me in college that similarly went in one ear and out the next because I couldn't hold on to information when it was presented like this.  But for the right reader, this is clearly a very well-researched, well-organized, and thoroughly thought out exploration of key figures from the authors past.  Figures that are worth knowing.
2456051
Seeing how people lived back then is a real trip. You begin to understand why things were the way they were in 1950.

It is most interesting to see a man come from humble beginnings with so many challenges and become the leader of the free world. You can see how very rare it is to make it to the Presidency. How many times his train could have derailed and he would have been happy doing something else just as well.

I will buy more David McCullough books.
3243571
I bought my first copy a year ago because I am a great fan of the Atlantic monthly. I have been reading that magazine for ten years. I kept dropping my jaw as I worked my way through this collection. There are so many famous writings that were first published in this magazine! I really feel like I get a clearer picture of our country since the time of the Civil War, when the Atlantic Monthly began publishing.

I feel it's so important, that I bought six more copies to give away as holiday gifts this year.
4875908
This was originally a chapter in the excellent Project Twenty series on television 45 years ago. It is a magnificent look at a decade that included the depression, the Roosevelt years, the labor strife, and the gathering storm clouds in Europe. Beautifully narrated by the the most mellifluous voice of Alexander Scourby. The last five minutes while Scourby narrates the end of an era over images of the 1939 New York World's Fair and the music of the "September Song" is overwhelming (especially for anyone over 70). There isn't any television like this nowadays. A treasure.
707329
It gave me a chance to learn or refresh so much of our very important history.  All Americans should read something like this every few years. The Patroits were so very brave and stood to loose everything, and many did.  They fought for everything, but hadn't the bare essentials.  How many of us would do something similar today?

The author has done us all a great service in researching and writing his book.
3191158
The Fifties Chronicle is a valuable resource that covers every conceivable topic in the 1950's. It describes important political events, larger than life personalities, music phenomena, and influential television shows. This book lays out the important events and people of the decade in chronological order. The book has priceless illustrations. There are wonderful color photographs on each page.

The book covers seminal events of the decade from Jonas Salk finding the cure for polio, to the Cold War developments, to trail-blazing civil rights events like Rosa Parks defying the discrimination of the day. The famous athletes of the decade are given prominence. Western stars like Gene Autry are shown to be pivotal figures in the emerging children's and consumer culture.

This book is a real treasure. I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover. I gave a copy to a friend of my father's who grew up in the 1950's. He told me that he loved the book and it brought back great memories. The book will appeal to everyone. It is clearly communicated and scholars and nostalgia buffs alike will love it.
4253413
A thoroughly impressive presentation of the facts at the time and an accurate presentation of the women's point of view of the events.
2492664
I wondered what it would be like to read these (some of which I remember having read before) so many years later, after--in theory--there is so much water under the bridge.

In the main, it was wonderful.  Trillin's writing is lucid, and his observations are both penetrating and measured.  And the dispatches have not lost their relevance, or their bite: here we are again, revisiting the battles and obstacles of a half century ago, especially as regards voter registration and school (re-) segregation.

How these dispatches will strike someone who has not been a long-time reader of Trillin's work I cannot say.  But I plan to give copies to some younger friends, so I will find out.  I recommend that other appreciators of Trillin's work do the same.
2784948
A very good insight into critical people and events.  A must read for those who want to understand the events spanning the decades from the 1930's to the present.
2324283
This book provides an excellent chronology of the last ~125 years of politics in North Carolina and is a real page turner. I think it should be required reading for incoming freshmen in the UNC system as it provides a very important context for politics, policy, economics, race, and education in North Carolina. I especially think NC students should read it before going abroad to be well versed in North Carolina's political history.

I think Christensen also does a nice job of provide a balanced view of each politician, including revered Democrats such as Sanford and Hunt. I've given it as a gift twice already.
2631752
When you blow through survey courses in American history, you seldom spend any time on the one-term presidency of Taft, other than the curiosity that he was our largest president, at well over 15 stone (take heart, gov. Christie).  This book is a welcome corrective to that oversight and a reader emerges with a much deeper understanding, and appreciation, of Taft  The same can be said for goodwin's other inspired decision in this book: To show how critical a role muckraking journalists played in the progressive era and the policies championed by teddy Roosevelt and Taft.  In a way unimaginable in today's media world, journalists shared ideas, and even drafts of their stories, with Roosevelt before publishing, But the combination of their reporting -- on Standard Oil, municipal corruption, protectionist tariffs and many other issues --and Roosevelt's shrewd, pragmatic policies ushered in a golden age for Progressive policies.  Taft was more of a caretaker of these policies than a catalyst like Roosevelt but his steady hand in Teddy's cabinet made Roosevelt a better President than he might've been, left to his more impulsive instincts. That the two men fell apart and barely spoke for years after Roosevelt split from the Republican Party in 1912 says more about Teddy's ego and ambitions than it does about Taft, who understandably felt betrayed by the man he had revered and served so well.  Goodwin spins their stories seamlessly and contributes an important account of the Progressive Era.  A must read for those interested in American history, and a resonant reminder that politicians and journalists can make good things happen.
3437933
"Dummy Days" captures the essence of a time in the early (some say "golden") days of television. This book is about the art of ventriloquism as it flourished on TV in the 1950s and about the famous ventriloquists who practiced the art -- Edgar Bergen, Senor Wences, Paul Winchell, Jimmy Nelson and Shari Lewis.
Dummy Days is well-researched, beautifully written, and well-produced. I am grateful to Kelly Asbury for doing this work. It reproduces with uncanny accuracy a time that was magic to me, a time that I remember very well; it returns me to my childhood when I was a performing ventriloquist and following these five stars closely. But more than transporting one elder fellow down memory lane, this book serves a larger purpose. Like the Foxfire books of years ago, this book captures and preserves part of a culture as it existed in its golden era, an artform that in its original format has been mostly unattended for far too long.
Most literature about the culture of the 1950s misses the mark. Asbury got it right, and he gave comprehensive coverage of the subject. This is an important book. It recalls and records important things that otherwise exist only in the memories of my generation.
Highly recommended, not only for those who remember the dummy days, but also for those who do not and are unaware of just how golden they really were.
Al Stevens
211554
Krauthammer gathers his best hits of the past thirty years, giving us a succinct analysis of what was important at the time. More importantly, he gives readers cause to think about what will be important for the United States' future.
1916292
Born in Rhodesian in '42 and only left in 2011 I was well acquainted with the history which I must say was fairly and accurately represented throughout. The introduction of the British element which was pervasive in the history of the country was cleverly done and again accurately represented the general picture. For me it was a trip down memory lane, very accurate and persuasive. I enjoyed it.
4309437
I am 75 years old. If I were to pick one book to describe to my children and grandchildren what it was like to live between 1948 and 1988, this would be the book. It is not earth shattering literature. Certainly, the story could be told in fewer words. But it is such an accurate reflection of reality and history, and I find it stunning.
430789
The author covers a lot more than the life of HBS in this book.  While Ms. Hedrick does a very strong job of covering her subject, she does an equally thorough job of diving into the social, political, religious and literary issues and events of the era.  The author goes in-depth on the role of women in American society including fact-based discussions of voting rights, women's suffrage, sexual subjugation, the 13th and 14th amendments, slavery (obviously) and the role of women in religion.  Her coverage of the Calvinist theological precepts and the role that her family played in it in the mid 1800's was very well put together.  Same goes for Hedrick's deep dive into the politics of the literary world of HBS's time.  I particularly enjoyed reading about the Atlantic Monthly and the literary "powers that were" of that institution and time.

Regarding the bio itself.  Hedrick toughs a terrific job of covering the full spectrum of HBS's life.  She presents HBS as a devoted mother, a brilliant and authentic author, a disciplined intellectual and a brave soul working very effectively in the male dominated world of the publishing and literary circles. She also covers the nuances and personal shortcomings of HBS as well as her parental challenges and pain.

There are so few great biographies of American women of the 19th century--this is one of them and if you want to learn much about America of that time then this is a must read.