- Category: Books » Politics & Current Events » General
- Format: Hardcover Learn more about the Hardcover format using Tower WIKI.
- Number of Pages: 256
- ISBN: 0470387815
- WAPI (Tower ID): 113227255
- Release Date: June 15, 2009
- Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
- Tower.com Sales Rank: #55067 in Books (See Top 100 Books Bestsellers)
- #1475 in Politics & Current Events (See Top 100 Politics & Current Events Bestsellers)
- #424 in General (See Top 100 General Bestsellers)
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Product DescriptionMore Books by Fred Kaplan (Author)Run a Quick Search on "1959" by Fred Kaplan to Browse Related Products:Browse more products related to "1959"Browse more products related to "Fred Kaplan"Review"Fred Kaplan's energetic and engaging new book makes a convincing case for [1959's] importance. Because it set the scene for the explosions of the 1960s, 1959 deserves special attention as a turning point in American history....Anyone old enough to remember the '50s will be astonished to discover how many revolutionary seeds were sewn in the final year of that decade. Others who read 1959 will get a compelling and concise lesson in American social, cultural and political history." Publisher's noteFocuses on a pivotal historical year prior to the tumultuous 1960s decade to explore events that set the stage for subsequent changes, noting such landmark happenings as America's entry in Vietnam, the release of the birth control pill, and the invention of the microchip. Annotation1848, 1968, and 1989, but 1959? Yes, 1959. Fred Kaplan provides a new turning point, arguing that the Sixties actually began in the last year of the much maligned Fifties in his book 1959: THE YEAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING. The year marked the breakthroughs of major innovative artists like Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg, civil rights began to gain momentum, "the pill" came into use for contraception, the war in Vietnam and the Space Race heated up, and the microchip jumpstarted the age of computers. Unlike many multidisciplinary histories that focus on decades, this book frees us from that mindset and reminds us that monumental shifts can start as tremors--in any year. Conventional historical wisdom focuses on the sixties as the era of pivotal change that swept the nation, yet, as Fred Kaplan argues, it was 1959 that ushered in the wave of tremendous cultural, political, and scientific shifts that would play out in the turbulent decade that followed. Pop culture exploded in upheaval with the rise of artists like Jasper Johns, Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, and Miles Davis. Court rulings unshackled previously banned books. Political power broadened with the onset of Civil Rights laws and protests. The sexual and feminist revolutionists took their first steps with the Birth Control pill. America entered the war in Vietnam, and a new style in superpower diplomacy took hold. The invention of the microchip launched the computer age, and the space race put a new twist on the frontier myth. Drawing fascinating parallels between 1959 and the country today, exactly 50 years later, Kaplan offers a smart, cogent, and deeply researched new take on a vital, overlooked period in American history. If You Enjoy "1959 (Hardcover)", May We Also Recommend:
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