The Fifties

By: David Halberstam

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 34 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The Fifties is a sweeping social, political, economic, and cultural history of the 10 years that Halberstam regards as seminal in determining what our nation is today. Halberstam offers portraits of not only the titans of the age: Eisenhower, Dulles, Oppenheimer, MacArthur, Hoover, and Nixon; but also of Harley Earl, who put fins on cars; Dick and Mac McDonald and Ray Kroc, who mass-produced the American hamburger; Kemmons Wilson, who placed his Holiday Inns along the nation's roadsides; U-2 pilot Gary Francis Powers; Grace Metalious, who wrote Peyton Place; and "Goody" Pincus, who led the team that invented "the pill".

A New York Times best seller

©2012 David Halberstam (P)2018 Random House Audio

Long, but extraordinary

the narrator and the length make never offer too much energy, but the level of which each topic is explored is truly incredible. Never over-analyzed, each chapter flows and teaches without judgement.

Boomer53

A great comprehensive evolution of the contribution of the Fifties. Well told and just enough detail to keep it from boredom.

coverage of many issues: social, economic, personal and political

liked most of it, setting 50s into long range historical perspective..It lacked consideration of countervailing trends: eg, beat movement, political humor; eg, Lenny Btuce, Mort Sahl, etc,, the importance of TV shows: Sid Caesar, Gleason, Berle, Paar,

Just outstanding

Engrossing social, political, and economic narrative popular history. Some is familiar, some not. Beautifully read. I highly recommend this one. A long narrative ride, well worth it.

Nifty Fifties

Author Halberstam provides a comprehensive look at a wide range of topics from this most interesting of decades. The political coverage provides insight into events straddling the late 1940s and early 1960s where issues cannot be strictly confined to a single decade. This can be quite a slog, but worth the effort. The inclusion of significant cultural celebrities such as Elvis Presley and Lucille Ball is both entertaining and illuminating, and provides a break from the dense political discussions.

If there is a single glaring flaw in this lengthy treatise, I would say that Halberstam's focus on North America, almost exclusively the United States, provides a somewhat isolated view of a decade that, after all, did occur all around the globe.

Robertson Dean's narration is excellent.

A turning point in many ways…

The book is long but worth every minute! The foundation for much of our current country, from Elvis to Cuba, is covered. Well worth a listen.

The Fifties

The book is a great summary of various events that occurred during this time with some overlap into earlier and later times. The section on the integration process was very informative and I learned quite a bit about it through this book. As with these books it sparks your interest in topics discussed so that you can jump off into more detailed books of the events. Well worth the time to listen through. Mr. Robertson Dean has a pleasant voice and good tempo. Although 34 hours it was not a chore to get through this audiobook.

Very nice

Well done narration of this surprising and broad history of the decade by David Halberstam

The author did his work! it's a fascinating decade

I knew of the author. David Halberstam, from his book on the Kennedy administration, "The Best and The Brightest." However, this book about the "Fifties" climbs into every nook and cranny of the '50s and it's happenings. From the start of our "on the ground involvement in Vietnam (and why) to the convention that picks Kennedy to run against Nixon. In particular, I found the Korean War section very enlightening. I came away thinking that Eisenhower was a very good president of our USA. I was born in 1956. So, the actual events were before my remembrances started. That's why I thought I'd try this book. The other thing to mention is that the author is a journalist and writes from that perspective. The reader is a good match and gets every word correctly pronounced. Also, the reader is a good actor when he needs to be. The actual beginnings of the book nicely unpack the Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision (9-0). And throughout the book, Halberstam pays close attention to every part of the Civil Rights movement that occurs during the '50s. I'm going to go out on a limb here. I believe that the author is one of the 20th centuries' best. Bar none. He worked hard. And it paid off. I may purchase the hardback for my physical library. It's a fabulous listen and probably a great read as well as listen. Enjoy!

Interested in most chapters

Thing I liked the most was that I was interested in almost chapters even if boring the writing and the performance was pretty good