1957

. . . the clear message of [1957] is that the center wasn't holding. The Western escapism on TV (Gunsmoke) and re-litigation of World War II glories in theaters (The Bridge on the River Kwai) belied emerging ideological fault lines that would widen in the coming decades.Ingeniously, Burns connects chapters about Billy Graham's 97-day run at New York stadiums with the publication of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, twin milestones for evangelicals and libertarians. . . . Burns's casual look beneath the surface reveals a host of disintegrations and delayed reckonings, ones that have lasted to this day.

A densely written, fact-packed account of a pivotal period in U.S. history.

Eric Burns' fast-paced cultural history spotlights 1957 - a pivotal year in Eisenhower's America. Burns connects the dots to show how Sputnik, the Little Rock Nine, the McClellan Committee, Jack Kerouac, Billy Graham, Walter O'Malley, West Side Story, the '57 Chevy, rock & roll, and more helped shape modern America.

In 1957: The Year That Launched the American Future, a fascinating, fast-paced chronicle manifested by articulately rendered, thought-provocative chapter-length essays, author and journalist Eric Burns reminds us of what a pivotal year that proved to be, not only by kindling that first contest to dominate space, but in multiple other arenas of the social, political, and cultural, much that is only apparent in retrospect.

4.5/5 Stars. 1957 offers a candid view of an eventful year in a decade of ups and downs. From mad bombers to mad hatters, the book maintains a consistency of captivating chapters . . . The past is reanimated with a passionate fervor for the masses to enjoy.