All-American Ads of the 50s
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All-American Ads of the 50s
by Authors:
Jim Heimann
Released: March, 2002
ISBN: 3822811580
Paperback
Sales Rank: 24,138
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List price:
$39.99
Our price:
$29.19
(You save: $10.8)
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| Book > All-American Ads of the 50s > Customer Reviews: |
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Average Customer Rating: 
All-American Ads of the 50s >
Customer Review #1:
You are what you eat - or wear - or buy .....
There are many reasons to look backwards. For one, it may help to figure out where one is by looking at where one has been. For another, one might rethink where one is going by looking at the ideals and goals of the past. One might assess societies as a whole in some grand way, such as its military budget or the outcome of elections, but for us common folk, there is no way to tell what is on our minds better than a look at what we are buying. This book is an absolutely fascinating compendium of the culture of the 50s - of our desires, our habits, our values, as told in its advertisements. On one level it is an amusing recollection of what we once thought was cool. On another it is a profound study of the sociology of America in a time of idealism and innocence. I saw many, if not most of these ads myself when they were originally published. That being said, I must add that the recollection of the feelings I had at that time is not entirely comfortable. On this other level, that of gut feelings, the book can be is a compendium of an appeal to the senses, to a culture of need, of having. One must look pretty deep to find any spiritual values here, and I think that the conspicuous absense of any moral sense is what is most interesting about it. Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned by those of us who look back is that the promises of those who offer us happiness by just one more purchase are really empty. Read this and be nostalgic, amused, reflective, and, just maybe, a little sad.
All-American Ads of the 50s >
Customer Review #2:
 Excellent
I would have given this book 5 stars, had it not been for the full page ad in the back for a new Taschen porno book, blech (ditto for the 40s book!). Could definitely do without that. The archived ads are wonderful. A great way to study or teach American culture, and a trip down a graphics memory lane. I hope that a 60s ad book is on the way.
All-American Ads of the 50s >
Customer Review #3:
A Great Series
This is an absolutely fabulous series -- I eagerly anticipate the remaining volumes. Certainly they are excellent and enjoyable volumes for people interested in American design and popular culture, but Im also finding them a great way to start teaching my young daughter about American history. Looking at 1950s liquor ads led to a discussion of Prohibition, which led to a discussion of gangster movies, and why everything in the 50s was trying to look like a rocket while consumer items of the 30s and 40s were rounded and "streamlined..." and so on.Its a great way for children to realize that clues about history (and the hidden agendas of marketers, for that matter) are everywhere around us, and that while wars and the deeds of the great are part of history, theres more to it than that.
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All-American Ads of the 50s >
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