American Pop: Popular Culture Decade by Decade [4 Volumes]

Pop culture is the heart and soul of America, a unifying bridge across time bringing together generations of diverse backgrounds. Whether looking at the bright lights of the Jazz Age in the 1920s, the sexual and the rock-n-roll revolution of the 1960s, or the thriving social networking websites of today, each period in America's cultural history develops its own unique take on the qualities define our lives.American Pop: Popular Culture Decade by Decade is the most comprehensive reference on American popular culture by decade ever assembled, beginning with the 1900s up through today. The four-volume set examines the fascinating trends across decades and eras by shedding light on the experiences of Americans young and old, rich and poor, along with the influences of arts, entertainment, sports, and other cultural forces. Whether a pop culture aficionado or a student new to the topic, American Pop provides readers with an engaging look at American culture broken down into discrete segments, as well as analysis that gives insight into societal movements, trends, fads, and events that propelled the era and the nation. In-depth chapters trace the evolution of pop culture in 11 key categories: Key Events in American Life, Advertising, Architecture, Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics, Entertainment, Fashion, Food, Music, Sports and Leisure Activities, Travel, and Visual Arts. Coverage includes: How Others See Us, Controversies and scandals, Social and cultural movements, Trends and fads, Key icons, and Classroom resources. Designed to meet the high demand for resources that help students study American history and culture by the decade, this one-stop reference provides readers with a broad and interdisciplinary overview of the numerous aspects of popular culture in our country. Thoughtful examination of our rich and often tumultuous popular history, illustrated with hundreds of historical and contemporary photos, makes this the ideal source to turn to for ready reference or research.

Table of Contents:
Volume One, 1900-1929 Series Foreword Preface Introduction 1900-1909 Timeline of 1900-1909 Overview of 1900-1909 Advertising of the 1900-1909 Architecture of 1900-1909 Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of 1900-1909 Entertainment of 1900-1909 Fashion of 1900-1909 Food of 1900-1909 Music of 1900-1909 Sports and Leisure of 1900-1909 Travel of 1900-1909 Visual Arts of 1900-1909 1910s Timeline of the 1910s Overview of the 1910s Advertising of the 1910s Architecture of the 1910s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1910s Entertainment of the 1910s Fashion of the 1910s Food of the 1910s Music of the 1910s Sports and Leisure of the 1910s Travel of the 1910s Visual Arts of the 1910s 1920s Timeline of the 1920s Overview of the 1920s Advertising of the 1920s Architecture of the 1920s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1920s Entertainment of the 1920s Fashion of the 1920s Food of the 1920s Music of the 1920s Sports and Leisure of the 1920s Travel of the 1920s Visual Arts of the 1920s Notes Resource Guide Volume Two, 1930-1959 Introduction 1930s Timeline of 1930s Overview of the 1930s Advertising of the 1930s Architecture of the1930s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1930s Entertainment of the 1930s Fashion of the 1930s Food of the 1930s Music of the 1930s Sports and Leisure of the 1930s Travel of the 1930s Visual Arts of the 1930s 1940s Timeline of the 1940s Overview of the 1940s Advertising of the 1940s Architecture of the 1940s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1940s Entertainment of the 1940s Fashion of the 1940s Food of the 1940s Music of the 1940s Sports and Leisure of the 1940s Travel of the 1940s Visual Arts of the 1940s 1950s Timeline of the 1950s Overview of the 1950s Advertising of the 1950s Architecture of the 1950s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1950s Entertainment of the 1950s Fashion of the 1950s Food of the 1950s Music of the 1950s Sports and Leisure of the 1950s Travel of the 1950s Visual Arts of the 1950s Notes Resource Guide Volume Three, 1960-1989 Introduction 1960s Timeline of the 1960s Overview of the 1960s Advertising of the 1960s Architecture of the 1960s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1960s Entertainment of the 1960s Fashion of the 1960s Food of the 1960s Music of the 1960s Sports and Leisure of the 1960s Travel of the 1960s Visual Arts of the 1960s 1970s Timeline of the 1970s Overview of the 1970s Advertising of the 1970s Architecture of the 1970s Books, Magazines, Newspapers, and Comics of the 1970s Entertainment of the 1970s Fashion of the 1970s Food of the 1970s Music of the 1970s Sports and Leisure of the 1970s Travel of the 1970s Visual Arts of the 1970s 1980s Timeline of the 1980s Overview of the 1980s Advertising of the 1980s Architecture of the 1980s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1980s Entertainment of the 1980s Fashion of the 1980s Food of the 1980s Music of the 1980s Sports and Leisure of the 1980s Travel of the 1980s Visual Arts of the 1980s Notes Resource Guide Volume Four, 1990s - 2000s Introduction 1990s Timeline of the 1990s Overview of the 1990s Advertising of the 1990s Architecture of the 1990s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 1990s Entertainment of the 1990s Fashion of the 1990s Food of the 1990s Music of the 1990s Sports and Leisure of the 1990s Travel of the 1990s Visual Arts of the 1990s 2000s Timeline of the 2000s Overview of the 2000s Advertising of the 2000s Architecture of the 2000s Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics of the 2000s Entertainment of the 2000s Fashion of the 2000s Food of the 2000s Music of the 2000s Sports and Leisure of the 2000s Travel of the 2000s Visual Arts of the 2000s Appendixes Cost of Products from 1900-2000s Classroom Resources Notes Resource Guide Bibliography

About the Author :
Bob Batchelor, PhD, is assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University and academic coordinator of its online master's program in public relations. Batchelor is the author or editor of 21 books, including 3 volumes in Greenwood's "Popular Culture through History" series: The 1900s, The 1980s, and The 2000s. In addition, he edited Praeger's three-volume Cult Pop Culture: How the Fringe Became Mainstream and Praeger's three-volume American History through American Sports.

Review :
This set makes for fun browsing. . . this set will be useful for school libraries and teachers and to help undergraduates get started with their research. . . . Recommended. Bottom line: Depending on when you were born, this set could be a glimpse into history or a reminder of the not-so-distant past. It provides insight into people and events that shaped our cultural heritage. Users should find the set similar to Gale's 'American Decades' and 'American Eras' series. While academic libraries would probably use the books more, public libraries may also find them valuable. This is a well-produced reference that provides students and the general reader with an overview of daily life and culture in the US. Volume Four contains a lengthy appendix of lessons, activities, research paper topics and guidelines, and other classroom resources. Editor Batchelor, a professor and author of several other pop-culture-related titles, presents an engaging look at daily life in twentieth- and twenty-first-century America in a work based partly on the more scholarly American Popular Culture through History (2002). . . . Those looking for a reference work for the general public and high schools will find this a nice choice. . . . . . a winning pick. . . Any general interest or American history collection will find this a fine, accessible reference, pairing black and white photos with timelines of popular culture events. From fashion and sports to travel and advertising, American Pop is an outstanding reference set for any popular culture library.