In treating the complexities of an often stereotyped era that encompassed both American optimism and the Cold War's birth, writers affiliated with Lynchburg College, VA, survey postwar trends that influenced later decades: e.g., consumerism, family togetherness values, the emerging civil rights movement, and abstract expressionism. A sample of 1950s prices lists steak at 94 cents/lb. and early TVs at $400. B&w photos include suburban ranch houses, pop entertainers, and fallout shelters. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR