1957: The Year That Launched the American Future

by Eric Burns

Overview

In 1957, America turned its back on its earlier self and jumped headlong into the nation it has become today. From Sputnik and the beginning of the space race to Little Richard and the underappreciated influence of rock n’ roll in bringing blacks and whites closer together, to President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Act, which forever changed the landscape, 1957 represents the year when all of the energy and anxiety that had followed the end of World War II exploded. In compelling stories from politics, pop culture, business, and the media, Eric Burns captures the excitement of a headspinning year and the lingering fallout that continues to resonate seven decades later. For baby boomers seeking to relive their formative years or readers seeking a window into midcentury America, 1957 provides a highly readable tour through one of the most fascinating years in American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538139950
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/2020
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	1,061,117
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Eric Burns is a former correspondent for NBC News and the Today show. For ten years, he was the host of Fox News Watch, and hewon an Emmy for media criticism. He is the author of several books, including 1920: The Year That Made the Decade Roar, Infamous Scribblers, The Spirits of America, and The Smoke of the Gods, the latter two of which were named "Best of the Best" by the American Library Association. He resides in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Sputnik Part One Chapter One: The Mad Bomber Chapter Two: The Committee Chapter Three: From Apalachin to Havana Part Two Chapter Four: Highways to Everywhere Chapter Five: The Design of An Era Chapter Six: The Vagina in the Grille Chapter Seven: Highways to Nowhere Part Three Chapter Eight: Whites Against Blacks Chapter Nine: Whites With Blacks Part Four Chapter Ten: Moving Stories Chapter Eleven: The Man Who Believed in God Chapter Twelve: The Woman Who Believed in Man Chapter Thirteen: Gang Wars on Broadway Chapter Fourteen: The Youngest Monster Part Five Chapter Fifteen: The Successes of Failure Chapter Sixteen: Muttnik Chapter Seventeen: Kaputnik Epilogue: The Return of the Preacher Man Acknowledgments Bibliography Notes Index

Editorial Reviews

05/18/2020

Journalist Burns (The Politics of Fame) delivers a richly detailed yet disorganized account of the year 1957 in American history. Among many topics, people, and events, Burns relates the laying of 41,000 miles of new roadway under President Eisenhower’s Highway Act to the success of the 1957 Chevy Bel Air and the failure of the Edsel. He also profiles Christian evangelist Billy Graham and libertarian writer Ayn Rand, and documents the launch of West Side Story on Broadway and the Brooklyn Dodgers’ move to L.A. Other topics touched on include McCarthyism, mob influence in Cuba, Elvis Presley, Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, and the cult classic film I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Though all occurred or rose to prominence in 1957, Burns lacks a unifying theme strong enough to turn his impressive knowledge into more than a collection of trivia. Even fairly straightforward parallels, such as the symbolic link between the displacement of whole neighborhoods to make room for interstate highways and the Dodgers’ abandonment of Brooklyn, go unremarked. Burns’s recounting of more obscure events, such as the Mad Bomber of New York’s largely incompetent, yet highly publicized, “reign of terror,” are welcome, but readers are likely to be left frustrated by the book’s randomness. This scattershot account fails to hit its target. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

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.

Manhattan Book Review

.. . 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.

AIR MAIL

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.

Richard Aquila

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

Washington Independent Review of Books

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.

Regarp Book Blog