Atomic Narratives and American Youth: Coming of Age with the Atom, 1945-1955

by Michael Scheibach

Overview

Following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, numerous "atomic narratives"--books, newspapers, magazines, textbooks, movies, and television programs--addressed the implications of the bomb. Post-World War II youth encountered atomic narratives in their daily lives at school, at home and in their communities, and were profoundly affected by what they read and saw.

This multidisciplinary study examines the exposure of American youth to atomic narratives during the ten years following World War II. In addition, it examines the broader "social narrative of the atom," which included educational, social, cultural, and political activities that surrounded and involved American youth. The activities ranged from school and community programs to movies and television shows to government-sponsored traveling exhibits on atomic energy.

The book also presents numerous examples of writings by postwar adolescents, who clearly expressed their conflicted feelings about growing up in such a tumultuous time, and shows how many of the issues commonly associated with the sixties generation, such as peace, fellowship, free expression, and environmental concern, can be traced to this earlier generation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786415663
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/07/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.59(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Independent historian Michael Scheibach has written three books on the early Cold War and edited an anthology of governmental publications related to the atomic bomb and civil defense. He has a doctorate in American studies and taught for several years as an adjunct professor. He lives in Miami, Florida.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Prologue: Sunday, August 5, 1945     
Preface     
Introduction: Postwar Adolescents and the Atomic Bomb     

1. Future Homemakers and Boy Cadets:
      School Activities for “Atom-Agers”     
2. Mouse Traps and Chain Reactions:
      Atomic Education in the Classroom     
3. Communism, Democracy, and Civil Defense:
      High School Days and Drills     
4. Brotherhood, Self-Reliance, and Survival:
      Senior Scholastic in Text and Images     
5. Growing Up “in a Circus Like This”:
      Atomic Repercussions in the Movies     
6. Paper Bombs and Atomic Airwaves:
      The World of Print, Radio, and Television     
7. “…to Escape the Fury of the Blast”:
      Young Voices of a New Generation     
8. The Fusion of Youth Culture     

Epilogue: 1955     
Appendix A: Atomic Narratives for the Classroom     
Appendix B: “Hydrogen, the Explosive”     
Appendix C: Film and Television Chronology     
Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

recommended”—Choice; “profoundly important...discerning and rigorous...analyzes a wealth of material...thought-provoking...Scheibach’s unprecedented inquiry provides invaluable insights...significant”—Booklist; “skillfully written”—History: Reviews of New Books; “contends that atomic narrative and the ‘social fallout’ from the development of the atomic bomb shaped a generation, just like the Depression a generation before it”—American Literature.

From the Publisher

profoundly important...discerning and rigorous...analyzes a wealth of material...thought-provoking...Scheibach's unprecedented inquiry provides invaluable insights...significant

Booklist

recommended

Choice