Going Home to the Fifties

By Bill Yenne

Going Home to the Fifties presents the ideals of suburban living as seen through the lens of magazine advertisements of the era. Full colour ads accompany the text to guide the reader on a journey through an idealised neighborhood ofthe times from the schools, roads and commuter trains to the homes, kitchens and backyards.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0867195657
• ISBN13: 9780867195651
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Last Gasp of San Francisco
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 0.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

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.

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.

At Long Last...

a book that celebrates that wonderful decade known as the 1950's and does so without irreverance, parody, or sarcasm. I came across the wonderful gem of a book quite by accident. For years, I had wished that someone would write a book that highlighted this time in American history and Bill Yenne does a SUPERB job.Not only is the text informative, but the wonderful pictures and illustrations, along with real advertisements, make this book a must-have for the serious afficianado. Unfortunately, you can find books out there about the fifties, but they are written by those who want to make fun of that time and use intellectual sophistication to castigate this era in America. How do I know it was such a good time?Well, I don't recall high school students shooting and knifing other students. Teen pregnancy numbers were quite low, movies had a point to them, drug abuse wasn't rampant, and some things were still honored and revered, such as church, country, and family. (No, I am not a Falwell/Robetrtson/Dobson right-wing fundamentalist.) But I am a moderate and I guess one of the many things I love about that time was its moderation and its optimism.Here we were right after a world war, eager to achieve and enjoy the promise of America and full of boundless optimism about our future. President Eisenhower led with a fatherly hand, and people grew and flourished. The malcontent and sociopath were the exception rather than what seems like the rule today. People seemed to have some reference to the whole rather than just an apathetic, "I don't give a damn" attitude. There were no violent gangsta rap songs flooding the airwaves with hate, and wonder of wonders, the music was really good-now considered classic. Yes, those halcyon days are gone now and we've "grown up." Just about anything goes and you don't have to look very far to find a social or psychic cesspool to wallow in. Being born in the late fifties, I know that my generation is the last to have enjoyed the fruitage of that great decade. But for a time, it was ours and it was sparkling, and it was the real deal.So get this book and spend an afternoon savoring each delicious memory and picture. You can't help but feel better after you put the book down and in fact, will find yourself returning there again and again.