50s fascination...

The 1950s are a fascinating time period -- post WWII, America was a booming industrialized powerhouse, just bursting from the repressed, lean years of the 1940s. Beyond the Gray Flannel Suit Books from the 1950s that Made American Culture explores the books of this period which had an impact on the culture and society at large. Far from being bland or conforming, I think the 1950s had an enormous impact on American culture, and not all of it bad. America was at its height of consumerism and you saw technology and innovation reach a high level of sophistication, especially when it came to outfitting the average suburban home. Another book, A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America by Lizabeth Cohen is a fascinating look at the political underpinnings to consumption and how it changed America, and I think it is one of the best books you can read to achieve an understanding as to how American political power really works in our modern age...