The Culture of the Cold War (The American Moment)

Named an Outstanding Book by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in the United States."A valuable contribution to the preservation of historical memory... In nine witty and crisply written chapters, Whitfield carries us from the late 1940s to the early 1960s... For those who lived through the 1950s, the book will bring back painful and perhaps embarrassing memories; for those who did not, it offers a timely reminder of what can happen to a society that demonizes its enemies, uncritically celebrates its own virtues, and insists onintellectual conformity as a test of cultural acceptance."--Paul Boyer, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. "A lively and well-documented account of how the Cold War both produced and was sustained by super-patriotism, intolerance and suspicion, and how these pathologies infected all aspects of American life in the 1950s-entertainment, churches, schools. Older readers will remember and still be amazed; younger ones will find this a readable introduction to a bizarre aspect of the American past."--Foreign Affairs. "Without the Cold War, what's the point of being an American?" As if in answer to this poignant question from John Updike's Rabbit at Rest, Stephen Whitfield examines the impact of the Cold War - and its dramatic ending - on American culture in an updated version of his highly acclaimed study. In a new epilogue to this second edition, he extends his analysis from the McCarthyism of the 1950s, including its effects on the American and European intelligensia, to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and beyond. Whitfield treats his subject matter with the eye of a historian, reminding the reader that the Cold War is now a thing of the past. His treatment underscores the importance of the Cold War to our national identity and forces the reader to ask, Where do we go from here? The question is especially crucial for the Cold War historian, Whitfield argues. His new epilogue is partly a guide for new historians to tackle the complexities of Cold War studies. The Author Examines The Culture Of The United States In The Post- World War Ii Era With Its Air Raid Drills, Spy Trials, Anti-communist Activity, And Tv Quiz Show Scandals. Politicizing Culture : Suspicious Minds -- Seeing Red : The Stigma -- Assenting : The Trend Of Ideology -- Praying : God Bless America -- Informing : Many Are Called -- Reeling : The Politics Of Film -- Boxed-in : Television And The Press -- Dissenting : Pity The Land -- Thawing : A Substitute For Victory. By Stephen J. Whitfield. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [231]-252) And Index. "Without the Cold War, what's the point of being an American?" As if in answer to this question from John Updike's "Rabbit at Rest", Stephen Whitfield examines the impact of the Cold War - and its dramatic ending - on American culture in an updated version of his study. In a new epilogue to this second edition, he extends his analysis from the McCarthyism of the 1950s, including its effects on the American and European intelligentsia, to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and beyond Contents Foreword Acknowledgements 1. Politicizing Culture: Suspicious Minds 2. Seeing Red: The Stigma 3. Assenting: The Trend of Ideology 4. Praying: God Bless America 5. Informing: Many Are Called 6. Reeling: The Politics of Film 7. Boxed-In: Television and the Press 8. Dissenting: Pity the Land 9. Thawing: A Substitute for Victory Bibliographical Essay Index