Life the First Fifty Year, 1936-1986

Published in celebration of Life magazine's golden anniversary, this volume gathers over 5,000 images that reflect the constantly changing experiences and perspectives of Americans in the past 50 years. The text provides an overview of the historical events and a sense of the tone of each decade by listing each year's popular songs, books, stage shows, movies, and important headlines. Its photographs are a mirror of every aspect of the past 50 years, from monumental world events to fads and eccentricities: "nothing (well, almost nothing) has been beneath or above the attention of the editors--nothing too frivolous, nothing too sublime."--the publisher.