JANUARY 2026

The Fabulous Fifties

By Rev Protodeacon George A. Haloulakos

The decade of the 1950s has been immortalized if not embedded into our nation's collective consciousness in Nostalgia TV (e.g., "Happy Days"), Pop Culture (e.g., posters of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe) and Politics (e.g., 34th US President Dwight Eisenhower).  As wintertime is a good opportunity for pleasure reading, this month's blog is a recommendation to either read or reread David Halberstam's 1986 New York Times bestseller The Fifties.   Baby Boomers will appreciate Halberstam's sweeping review of the cultural, social, political and economic history of this era while younger readers will find this to be an informative, insightful but entertaining discourse on how major institutions, iconic public figures and mass market consumer offerings became an integral part of the American experience.

Halberstam's reader-friendly, conversational writing style makes history an appealing, fun read instead of a boring, condescending academic treatise.  It is easy to see why Halberstam was a Pulitzer Prize winning author as this same style is evident in all of his books on various topics.  What makes reading The Fifties a compelling experience is that Halberstam eschews the oft-used (some might say "over used") linear narrative style typically associated with history books.  In this instance, Halberstam separately profiles the various trends, notable events and people from the 1950s thereby making the subject all the more memorable if not meaningful.  The reader comes to understand that is not mere nostalgia, but a carefully crafted exposition on a period that not only provided the foundation for the events that occurred in the ensuing decades but still resonate today!

Here are few examples of what Halberstam covers:

> The towering presence on the global stage of US President Dwight Eisenhower who in the prior decade had commanded the Allied Forces in the European Theater to victory in World War II;

> The introduction of "fast food" and mass marketing via the rise of McDonald's and the Holiday Inn hotel chain;

> The creation of Rock and Roll music via the rise of Elvis Presley;

> The emergence of the personal brand and counterculture with James Dean and Marilyn Monroe;

> The beginnings of the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement;

> The importance of the car culture in everyday American life via the prism of General Motors and innovative designs by Harley Earl.

There is, of course, a lot more.  But it is clear that much of what we now take for granted, including the rise of computers, space exploration, sophisticated advertising & marketing and so forth, all had their beginnings in the 1950s.  The conclusion of the book is also written in a way to stimulate further interest by offering a tantalizing account of the televised debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon as a segue into the 1960s and the role of Madison Avenue advertising (think "Mad Men" - the 2007-2015 TV series) in all aspects of American life.

Although published 40 years ago, David Halberstam's The Fifties remains a refreshing if not perennially relevant account of a decade that regrettably has become caricatured instead of respected for the long shadow it continues to cast.  Start the New Year and break up your wintertime by checking out this wonderful book!

NOTE: All photos are from the public domain.