Rethinking Cold War Culture

Kuznick, Peter J.; Gilbert, James

ISBN 10: 1560988959 / ISBN 13: 9781560988953

Published by Smithsonian Books, 2010

Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G1560988959I3N10

Synopsis:

This anthology of essays questions many widespread assumptions about the culture of postwar America. Illuminating the origins and development of the many threads that constituted American culture during the Cold War, the contributors challenge the existence of a monolithic culture during the 1950s and thereafter. They demonstrate instead that there was more to American society than conformity, political conservatism, consumerism, and middle-class values.

By examining popular culture, politics, economics, gender relations, and civil rights, the contributors contend that, while there was little fundamentally new about American culture in the Cold War era, the Cold War shaped and distorted virtually every aspect of American life. Interacting with long-term historical trends related to demographics, technological change, and economic cycles, four new elements dramatically influenced American politics and culture: the threat of nuclear annihilation, the use of surrogate and covert warfare, the intensification of anticommunist ideology, and the rise of a powerful military-industrial complex.

This provocative dialogue by leading historians promises to reshape readers' understanding of America during the Cold War, revealing a complex interplay of historical norms and political influences.

About the Author: Peter J. Kuznick is associate professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, and the author of Beyond the Laboratory: Scientists as Political Activists in 1930s America (1987).

James Gilbert is Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Maryland and author of Redeeming Culture: American Religion in an Age of Science (1997).

Bibliographic Details

Title: Rethinking Cold War Culture
Publisher: Smithsonian Books
Publication Date: 2010
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket