Spirit of America Bookstore

Fifties  Culture  Nostalgia

          Fifties-Era Transportation
Books About the Fifties
Videos & DVDs
Music of the Fifties



homepage of Rick Walker, Private Investigator
Rick Walker's Fifties Research Page
Rick Walker's Route 66 Page

'The Beat Generation' Page at Maison d'Ętre Beatnik Coffeehouse

at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
Drive-In Movie Theaters Page
History of Radio & Television Page
Best Picture Academy Awards 1951-1960

at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Hopalong Cassidy Page
The Cisco Kid & Pancho Page
The Lone Ranger Page

here at Spirit of America Bookstore
Roadside Diners & Coffee Shops Page
Surf Shack Page + Surf Woodies Page
Googie-style roadside architecture
Books on Route 66 Pages
Nostalgic Americana Page
Old Time Radio Page



Outside Links

L.A. Radio People

Atomic Magazine: The Essential Guide to Retro Culture
subscription (4 issues/year) for $29.88

CONELRAD Civil Defense Program     Conelrad [atomic civil defense]
Cold War Era Civil Defense Virtual Museum

Atomic U.S.A. Page at Spirit of America





Books  About  Fifties-Era  Culture

Let's Go Bowling   "Let's Go Bowling!" [2005]
by Eric Dregni

Motorbooks Intl. 9½x9 hardcover [10/2005] for $15.56
Scene of the Crime   "Scene of The Crime: Photographs From The L.A.P.D. Archive" [2004]
Foreword by Chief William J. Bratton, Introduction by James Ellroy, Essay by Tim B. Wride

Harry N. Abrams 13½x8½ hardcover [10/2004] for $23.80
The 1950s   "The 1950s: American Popular Culture Through History" [2004]
by William H. & Nancy K. Young

Greenwood Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [4/2004] for $49.35
Motel America Tour Guide   "Motel America: A State-By-State Tour Guide To Nostalgic Stopovers"
[2004] by Andrew F. & Jenny L. Wood

Collectors Press 9x6 pb [3/2004] for $10.17
Lost America   "Lost America: The Abandoned Roadside West" [2003]
by Troy Paiva

Motorbooks Intl 9x9 pb [6/2003] for $13.97
Tiki Road Trip   "Tiki Road Trip: A Guide To Tiki Culture In North America" [2003]
by James Teitelbaum

Santa Monica Press 9x6 pb [5/2003] for $11.87
All-American Ads of the 40s   "All-American Ads of The 40s" [2002]
Edited by Jim Heimann

Taschen 11x8¾ pb [3/2002] for $29.59
All-American Ads of the 50s   "All-American Ads of The 50s" [2002]
Edited by Jim Heimann

Taschen 10½x8 pb [3/2002] for $29.19
Bowled Over / Memory Lane   "Bowled Over: A Roll Down Memory Lane" [2002]
by Gideon Bosker & Bianca Lencek-Bosker

Diane Publng Co. 7x7 hardcover [4/2004] for $16.00
Chronicle Books 7½x7¼ hardcover [8/2002] out of print/many used
Southern California In The '50s  
"Southern California In The '50s: Sun, Fun & Fantasy" [2001]
by Charles Phoenix

Angel City Press 9¼x9½ hardcover [9/2001] for $24.50
Book of Tiki   "The Book of Tiki: A Guide For The Urban Archeologist" [2000]
by Sven A. Kirsten

Taschen 10x8½ pb [6/2003] for $19.99
Taschen hardcover [9/2000] out of print/used
Diners, Bowling Alleys & Trailer Parks   "Diners, Bowling Alleys and Trailer Parks: Chasing The American Dream In Postwar Consumer Culture" [2001]
by Andrew Hurley

Basic Books 8x5 pb [2/2002] for $17.95
Basic Books 8½x6 hardcover [2/2001] out of print
Historical Dictionary of the 1950s   "Historical Dictionary of The 1950s" [2000]
by James S. Olson

intended for use by scholars, universities & libraries
Greenwood Press 9½x6½ hardcover [7/2000] for $107.95
Leis, Luaus & Aloha / Hawaii In The Fifties   "Leis, Luaus & Aloha: The Lure of Hawaii In The Fifties" [1999]
by Fred E. Basten

Island Heritage 12½x10 hardcover [11/99] for $13.57
Fabulous Las Vegas In The 50s   "Fabulous Las Vegas In The 50s: Glitz, Glamour & Games" [1999]
by Fred E. Basten & Charles Phoenix

Angel City Press 9½x9½ hardcover [10/99] for $18.86
As Seen On TV   "As Seen On TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s"
[1994] by Karal Ann Marling

Harvard Univ Press 9¼x6 pb [3/96] for $20.50
Harvard Univ Press 9½x6.4 hardcover [9/94] for $27.50
When We Were Young   "When We Were Young: A Baby-Boomer Yearbook 1947-1975"
[1993] by Rita Lang Kleinfelder

Hungry Minds 9x6½ pb [4/93] out of print/used
Smithmark hardcover [12/96] out of print/used
Populuxe   "Populuxe" [1987] by Thomas Hine
Fine Commns 10.4x8¾ hardcover [10/99] for $16.97
Knopf pb [11/87] out of print/used

"The Fifties: The Way We Really Were" [1977]
by Douglas T. Miller & Marion Novak
Doubleday hardcover [5/77] out of print/used

Revolutionary Road novel & film   "Revolutionary Road" [rediscovered 1961 novel] by Richard Yates
Mired in creeping boredom in the suburbs, with unfulfilled lives and careers, a prosperous Connecticut couple decides to move with their two children to France to escape the consumerist demands of capitalist America. The book is compared to Updike, and described as well written, witty & intriguing; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005)
Vintage 8x5¼ pb [4/2000] for $10.17
Greenwood Press 8½x5¾ hardcover [10/71] for $89.95
feature film [DreamWorks; scheduled for Dec 2008 release]
Co-produced & directed by Sam Mendes; starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates & Michael Shannon
video/DVD not yet available; latest info at IMDb

Books on Route 66 at Spirit of America Bookstore





Videos  &  DVDs  About  Fifties-Era  Culture

Fifties video   "David Halberstam's The Fifties" tv miniseries [A&E/History airdate Nov 1997]
Narrated by Edward Herrmann

A&E VHS [2/98] 6 tapes for $89.95
full credits from IMDb
Fifties book   "The Fifties" [1993] by David Halberstam
Fawcett pb [6/94] for $10.50
Random House hardcover [4/96] out of print/used
Villard 9½x6½ hardcover [6/93] out of print/used
Random House Audio [6/93] out of stock/used





Fifties-Era  Transportation

Natl. Hot Rod Assn. [est. 1951]       Wally Parks NHRA Museum, Pomona CA [est. 1998]

Cars Retro  
"Cars: American Retro" [2000] Edited by Alison Moss
Sourcebooks 6½x6¾ hardcover [10/2000] for $12.95
Ed Roth   "Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth: His Life, Times, Cars & Art" [2003]
by Pat Ganahl

CarTech 10.3x10.3 hardcover [3/2003] for $27.97
Rat Fink  
"Rat Fink: The Art of Ed Big Daddy Roth" [2003]
by Ed Roth & C. R. Stecyk

Last Gasp of SF pb & CD [6/2003] for $20.97
Last Gasp of SF hardcover & CD [4/2003] out of print/used
Cruisin'   "Cruisin': Car Culture In America" [1997]
by Michael Karl Witzel & Kent Bash

Motorbooks Intl 9¾x10¼ hardcover [9/97] for $24.47





Music  of  the  Fifties

Jazz Music Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
'Your Hit Parade' 1935-55
'Your Hit Parade' 1955-59
Arthur Lyman catalog at Amazon
Martin Denny catalog at Amazon

Central Avenue Sounds   "Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz In Los Angeles" [1998]
Edited by Clora Bryant

Univ CA Press 9x6 pb [12/99] for $13.97
Univ CA Press 9½x6½ hardcover [3/98] out of print/used

"The Black Music History of Los Angeles, It Roots: A Classical Pictorial
History of Black Music in L.A. from 1920-1970" [1992]
by Tom Reed, with photos by Howard Morehead & others
Black Accent on L.A. hardcover [10/92] out of print/used



Online sales in association with  The Fifties catalog at Amazon.com

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