The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia [2 volumes] - Hardcover

Young, William H.; Young, Nancy K.

9780313335204: The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia [2 volumes]

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313335206 ISBN 13: 9780313335204

Publisher: Greenwood, 2007

View all copies of this ISBN edition

1 Used

From US$ 140.00

0 New

Everything from Amos n' Andy to zeppelins is included in this expansive two volume encyclopedia of popular culture during the Great Depression era. Two hundred entries explore the entertainments, amusements, and people of the United States during the difficult years of the 1930s. In spite of, or perhaps because of, such dire financial conditions, the worlds of art, fashion, film, literature, radio, music, sports, and theater pushed forward. Conditions of the times were often mirrored in the popular culture with songs such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime, breadlines and soup kitchens, homelessness, and prohibition and repeal. Icons of the era such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, George and Ira Gershwin, Jean Harlow, Billie Holiday, the Marx Brothers, Roy Rogers, Frank Sinatra, and Shirley Temple entertained many. Dracula, Gone With the Wind, It Happened One Night, and Superman distracted others from their daily worries. Fads and games - chain letters, jigsaw puzzles, marathon dancing, miniature golf, Monopoly - amused some, while musicians often sang the blues.

Nancy and William Young have written a work ideal for college and high school students as well as general readers looking for an overview of the popular culture of the 1930s. Art deco, big bands, Bonnie and Clyde, the Chicago's World Fair, Walt Disney, Duke Ellington, five-and-dimes, the Grand Ole Opry, the jitter-bug, Lindbergh kidnapping, Little Orphan Annie, the Olympics, operettas, quiz shows, Seabiscuit, vaudeville, westerns, and Your Hit Parade are just a sampling of the vast range of entries in this work. Reference features include an introductory essay providing an historical and cultural overview of the period, bibliography, and index.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

William H. Young is a freelance writer and independent scholar. He retired in 2000 after 36 years from Lynchburg College where he taught American Studies and popular culture. Young has published books and articles on various aspects of popular culture, including three Greenwood volumes co-written with his wife, Nancy K. Young.

Nancy K. Young is a researcher and independent scholar. She retired in 2005 after 26 years from a career in management consulting. With her husband, William H. Young, she has co-written three recent Greenwood titles, The 1930s, The 1950s, and Music of the Great Depression.

Reviews

The 200 alphabetically arranged entries in this encyclopedia focus mainly on aspects of popular culture in 1930s America, from music and literature to mass media and sports. Entries may be biographical (Duke Ellington, the Marx Brothers, Shirley Temple) or cover sociopolitical issues and movements (New Deal, Prohibition and repeal, Race relations and stereotyping); prominent organizations (Alcoholics Anonymous, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Writers' Project); works of art (King Kong, Porgy and Bess, The Wizard of Oz); even comic strips (Dick Tracy, Superman, Tarzan). Other entries cover broader topics. For example, the set begins with Advertising and ends with Youth. All entries contain numerous cross-references and see also references in addition to a handful of selected-reading resources, many freely available online. These additional resources are compiled at the end of volume 2 in a 30-page bibliography. Entries are generally between one and five pages long and cover some unexpected topics like the Empire State Building, frozen foods, hillbillies, jukeboxes, and jigsaw puzzles. Black-and-white illustrations, photographs, and even comic strips are found throughout the volumes, but perhaps more interesting are the charts and lists. Some examples are "Representative Screwball Comedies of the 1930s," "American Record Sales during the 1930s," and "Candy and the 1930s," which lists the manufacturer and debut year of well-known treats like the Snickers bar and Tootsie Pops. Other notable features are a 5-page introduction, which provides some historical context; a listing of entries by topic (such as "Art," "Government," and "Travel"); and a comprehensive index that will lead users to subjects covered within entries, even though they may not have entries of their own. Overall, this is a fun, informative, and exuberant look at the America of the 1930s. It clearly delights in informing the reader of the joyful aspects of what was a dark time in U.S. history. The subject matter should appeal to a wide audience, indeed; the stated targets for this encyclopedia are high-school as well as college students. Tosko, Michael

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.