Homeward Bound : American Families in the Cold War Era

"When Homeward Bound first appeared in 1988, it altered the way we understood Cold War America. The post-World War II era was thought of as a time when Americans turned away from politics to enjoy the fruits of peace and prosperity, while their leaders remained preoccupied with the dangers of the Atomic Age. Elaine Tyler May demonstrated that the Cold War infused life on every level from the boardroom to the bedroom. This new edition includes up-to-date information and references, along with an epilogue that examines how the legacy of the Cold War has shaped America since September 11, 2001"--Provided by publisher Homeward Bound challenges cherished assumptions about the "happy days" of the 1950s, and offers new answers to questions that still surround the era: What gave rise to the baby boom? What inspired so much conformity in the postwar years? Why did the youth of the sixties rebel against the values they inherited? Uncovering startling connections between politics and family life, Elaine Tyler May argues that the Cold War affected virtually all aspects of life, from consumerism to sexuality. Americans emerged from years of depression and war yearning for peace and prosperity. But the tense relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, fierce anti-communism at home, and the menacing presence of the atomic bomb seemed to threaten the promise of the good life. The ideology of containment, which permeated Cold War politics, had a chilling effect on the movement for women's emancipation. It also fostered the unique form of domesticity that characterized the era: the baby boom, exaggerated gender roles, and the suburban lifestyle In the 1950s, the term "containment" referred to the foreign policy-driven containment of Communism and atomic proliferation. Yet in Homeward Bound May demonstrates that there was also a domestic version of containment where the "sphere of influence" was the home. Within its walls, potentially dangerous social forces might be tamed, securing the fulfilling life to which postwar women and men aspired. Homeward Bound tells the story of domestic containment - how it emerged, how it affected the lives of those who tried to conform to it, and how it unraveled in the wake of the Vietnam era's assault on Cold War culture, when unwed mothers, feminists, and "secular humanists" became the new "enemy." This revised and updated edition includes the latest information on race, the culture wars, and current cultural and political controversies of the post-Cold War era. In Homeward Bound, Noted Historian Elaine Tyler May Uncovers Startling Connections Between The Cold War And Family Life, Challenging Assumptions Of The Happy Days Of The 1950s. This New Edition Includes Up-to-date Information And References Throughout, With An Epilogue That Examines The Legacy Of The Cold War Since September 11th, 2001--jacket. Containment At Home : Cold War, Warm Hearth -- Depression : Hard Times At Home -- War And Peace : Fanning The Home Fires -- Explosive Issues : Sex, Women, And The Bomb -- Brinkmanship : Sexual Containment On The Home Front -- Baby Boom And Birth Control : The Reproductive Consensus -- The Commodity Gap : Consumerism And The Modern Home -- Hanging Together : For Better Or For Worse -- The End Of Containment : The Baby Boom Comes Of Age. Elaine Tyler May. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 249-288) And Index. "In Homeward Bound, noted historian Elaine Tyler May uncovers startling connections between the Cold War and family life, challenging assumptions of the "happy days" of the 1950s. This new edition includes up-to-date information and references throughout, with an epilogue that examines the legacy of the Cold War since September 11th, 2001"--Back cover N 1959, the year the atomic-age newlyweds spent their honeymoon in a fall-out shelter, when the baby boom and the cold war were both at their peak. The classic book on private life during the Cold War—fully revised and updated for the twentieth anniversary edition.