Ben Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of...
Continue »
It was the year of the microchip, the birth-control pill, the space race, and the computer revolution; the rise of Pop art, free jazz, "sick comics," the New Journalism, and indie films; the emergence of Castro, Malcolm X, and personal superpower diplomacy; the beginnings of Motown, Happenings, and the Generation Gap-all bursting against the backdrop of the Cold War, the fallout-shelter craze, and the first American casualties of the war in Vietnam.
It was a year when the shockwaves of the new ripped the seams of daily life, when humanity stepped into the cosmos and commandeered the conception of human life, when the world shrank but the knowledge needed to thrive in it expanded exponentially, when outsiders became insiders, when categories were blurred and taboos trampled, when we crossed into a "new frontier" that offered the twin prospects of infinite possibilities and instant annihilation-a frontier that we continue to explore exactly fifty years later, at an eerily similar turning point.
In 1959: The Year Everything Changed, acclaimed Slate columnist Fred Kaplan vividly chronicles this vital, overlooked year that set the world as we know it in motion. Drawing on original research, including untapped archives and interviews with major figures of the time, Kaplan pieces together the vast, untold story of a civilization in flux-and paints vivid portraits of the men and women whose creative energies, ideas, and inventions paved the way for the new era. They include:
Norman Mailer, musing on the hipster and the H-bomb while fusing journalism and literature in wildly new, influential ways; Lenny Bruce, remaking stand-up comedy by loosening the language and skewering politics and religion; Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman, shattering the structures of jazz; John Cassavetes, making a new kind of movie, with improvised dialogue, shot in the city streets, outside the Hollywood system; Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, insinuating black urban music into mainstream pop culture; Barney Rosset, the owner of Grove Press, suing the government's censors and toppling obscenity laws; Malcolm X and Medgar Evers, advancing new and militant paths to civil rights and racial politics; Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Allan Kaprow, blurring the boundaries between art and life; Jack Kilby, a self-described "tinkerer," inventing the microchip, which triggers the digital age; Margaret Sanger, a radical activist in her eighties, spurring renegade scientists to invent a "magic pill" that lets women control their reproductive processes and unleashes the sexual and feminist revolutions; and John F. Kennedy, the coalescing figure of the era, campaigning for president as a young outsider, keen to grapple with the "unknown opportunities and peril" of the coming "new frontier"—just as Barack Obama, an even unlikelier outsider, confronts the eve of a new decade in our own turbulent time.
Synopsis:
A Washington Post Best Book of 2009
"Fascinating . . . a cabinet of wonders. . . . Those who love the AMC series Mad Men, set just after the epochal year, will find much to love in Kaplan's book."
—Los Angeles Times
"Clever . . . Fun . . . Kaplan makes an intriguing case that 1959 was an authentic annus mirabellis."
—The Wall Street Journal
"Enormously engaging. . . . Kaplan is wonderful at chronicling what changed and how."
—Washington Post
"Immensely enjoyable reading. . . . A first-rate book."
—George Packer, The New Yorker
"This sprawling, holistic joy of a book explores, expands, and provokes reassessment of an entire era—not just a year—in a way that is deeply satisfying and enlightening. Social, political, and historical commentary doesn't get much better than this."
—Daily Kos
It was the year of the microchip, the birth-control pill, the space race, and the computer revolution; the rise of Pop art, free jazz, "sick comics," the New Journalism, and indie films; the emergence of Castro, Malcolm X, and personal superpower diplomacy; the beginnings of Motown, Happenings, and the Generation Gap—all bursting against the backdrop of the Cold War, the fallout-shelter craze, and the first American casualties of the war in Vietnam. Drawing on original research, untapped archives, and interviews with major figures of the time, Fred Kaplan pieces together the vast, untold story of a civilization in flux—and paints vivid portraits of the men and women whose inventions, ideas, and energy paved the way for the world we know today.
Synopsis:
Acclaimed national security columnist and noted cultural critic Fred Kaplan looks past the 1960s to the year that really changed America
While conventional accounts focus on the sixties as the era of pivotal change that swept the nation, Fred Kaplan argues that it was 1959 that ushered in the wave of tremendous cultural, political, and scientific shifts that would play out in the decades 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 revolutions 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 and the Space Race put a new twist on the frontier myth.
Vividly chronicles 1959 as a vital, overlooked year that set the world as we know it in motion, spearheading immense political, scientific, and cultural change
Strong critical acclaim: "Energetic and engaging" (Washington Post); "Immensely enjoyable . . . a first-rate book" (New Yorker); "Lively and filled with often funny anecdotes" (Publishers Weekly)
Draws fascinating parallels between the country in 1959 and today
Drawing fascinating parallels between the country in 1959 and today, Kaplan offers a smart, cogent, and deeply researched take on a vital, overlooked period in American history.
Fred Kaplan is a columnist for Slate and a frequent contributor to the New York Times, New York magazine, and other publications. A former reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner for the Boston Globe, he is also the author of Daydream Believers and coauthor of The Wizards of Armageddon. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Brooke Gladstone.
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
US History - 20th Century
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
nhower, cold war, russia, ussr, vietnam vietnam war, sexual revolution, the pill, birth control pill, birth control, microchip, invention of microchip, integrated circuit, silocon chip, computer chip, space launch, space program, luna 2, luna 3, explorer
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
russia, ussr, vietnam vietnam war, sexual revolution, the pill, birth control pill, birth control, microchip, invention of microchip, integrated circuit, silocon chip, computer chip, space launch, space program, luna 2, luna 3, explorer 7, norman mailer,
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
invention of microchip, integrated circuit, silocon chip, computer chip, space launch, space program, luna 2, luna 3, explorer 7, norman mailer, allen ginsberg, jasper johns, jazz, 1950s jazz, 1950?s jazz, miles davis, war stories, slate, slate.com, the a
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Subject:
the fifties, fifties, 1950?s, 1950s, nineteen-fifties, mid-century, mid-twentieth century, mid-20th century, 20th century, twentieth century, 20th century history, 20th century history, pop culture, american pop culture, american history, us history, unit
Copyright:
2009
Publication Date:
20090527
Binding:
Electronic book text in proprietary or open standard format
1959: The Year Everything Changed
Used Trade Paper
Fred Kaplan
0 stars -
0 reviews
$7.95
In Stock
Product details
336 pages
John Wiley & Sons -
English9780470602034
Reviews:
"Synopsis"
by Wiley,
A Washington Post Best Book of 2009
"Fascinating . . . a cabinet of wonders. . . . Those who love the AMC series Mad Men, set just after the epochal year, will find much to love in Kaplan's book."
—Los Angeles Times
"Clever . . . Fun . . . Kaplan makes an intriguing case that 1959 was an authentic annus mirabellis."
—The Wall Street Journal
"Enormously engaging. . . . Kaplan is wonderful at chronicling what changed and how."
—Washington Post
"Immensely enjoyable reading. . . . A first-rate book."
—George Packer, The New Yorker
"This sprawling, holistic joy of a book explores, expands, and provokes reassessment of an entire era—not just a year—in a way that is deeply satisfying and enlightening. Social, political, and historical commentary doesn't get much better than this."
—Daily Kos
It was the year of the microchip, the birth-control pill, the space race, and the computer revolution; the rise of Pop art, free jazz, "sick comics," the New Journalism, and indie films; the emergence of Castro, Malcolm X, and personal superpower diplomacy; the beginnings of Motown, Happenings, and the Generation Gap—all bursting against the backdrop of the Cold War, the fallout-shelter craze, and the first American casualties of the war in Vietnam. Drawing on original research, untapped archives, and interviews with major figures of the time, Fred Kaplan pieces together the vast, untold story of a civilization in flux—and paints vivid portraits of the men and women whose inventions, ideas, and energy paved the way for the world we know today.
"Synopsis"
by Wiley,
Acclaimed national security columnist and noted cultural critic Fred Kaplan looks past the 1960s to the year that really changed America
While conventional accounts focus on the sixties as the era of pivotal change that swept the nation, Fred Kaplan argues that it was 1959 that ushered in the wave of tremendous cultural, political, and scientific shifts that would play out in the decades 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 revolutions 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 and the Space Race put a new twist on the frontier myth.
Vividly chronicles 1959 as a vital, overlooked year that set the world as we know it in motion, spearheading immense political, scientific, and cultural change
Strong critical acclaim: "Energetic and engaging" (Washington Post); "Immensely enjoyable . . . a first-rate book" (New Yorker); "Lively and filled with often funny anecdotes" (Publishers Weekly)
Draws fascinating parallels between the country in 1959 and today
Drawing fascinating parallels between the country in 1959 and today, Kaplan offers a smart, cogent, and deeply researched take on a vital, overlooked period in American history.
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
