The Rise and Fall of the Future - America's Changing Vision of Tomorrow, 1939-1986

Mid-20th century America envisioned a wondrous future of comfort, convenience and technological advancement. Popular culture--including World's Fairs, science fiction and advertising--fed high hopes even when war and hardship threatened. American ingenuity and consumer culture promised to deliver flying cars, undersea cities, household robots and space travel. By the 1960s political assassinations, the civil rights and women's movements, the Vietnam War and the "generation gap" eroded that optimism, refocusing attention on the issues of the present. The nation's utopian dream was brief but revealing. Based on a wide range of sources, this book takes a fresh look at America's precipitous fall from futurism to disillusionment.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

1.¿The World of Tomorrow

2.¿From War to Renewal

3.¿A Consumer's Future

4.¿A New Frontier

5.¿Peak Future

6.¿The Specter of Doubt

7.¿Fading Tomorrows

Epilogue

Chapter Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the author

Gordon Arnold has taught at several colleges, including Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts. He lives in the Boston area.

Product details

• Authors: Gordon Arnold, Arnold Gordon
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.08.2020
• EAN: 9781476677446
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-7744-6
• No. of pages: 210
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 11 mm
• Weight: 272 g
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Popular Culture, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture, HISTORY / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies), SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Future Studies, Society & culture: general, Social forecasting, future studies, History of the Americas, Society and culture: general