American Decades is a cross disciplinary source for junior high and high school students and teachers, and general researchers who need a single, consistent reference to document and analyze periods of contemporary American social history. It is designed as an alternative to maintaining a collection of widely variable, and often incomplete, chronologies that take the form of picture books, encyclopedias, monographs and statistical sources. None offers the single-source convenience and consistency required to easily compare social history trends from decade to decade. American Decades' dependable topical arrangement within chronological volumes, depth of factual information, accessibility, precise indexing and century-wide scope make it the most valuable tool of its kind. Each volume of American Decades concentrates on the important aspects of a 10-year period in American history, providing insight into time periods that have defined the cultural identity of entire generations and helped shape the political and economic fabric of America: The roaring twenties, the depression years, World War II, the 60s, etc. "This is by far one of the most interesting 'decade' books I have read. An attractive and readable format. Because of the wealth of information, it serves as an excellent research tool. Because of the depth of information, it is just fun to browse. I highly recommend this book". -- Voice of Youth Advocates Volumes begin with a chronology of world events covering the entire decade. Subject chapters follow, each providing explanatory background essays, subject-specific chronologies and alphabetically arranged items depicting the people, ideas and facts important during thatdecade. Here you'll find explanations of concepts and events; term definitions; sidebars high-lighting high: interest subjects; and almanac-style charts, lists, and statistics coveting popular culture indicators such as awards, results of opinion polls, quotations, slang, commercials, prices and much more. Biographies of prominent figures are also included. -- World events -- Arts -- literature, fine arts, music, theater and movies -- Media -- popular entertainment, newspapers, magazines -- Government and politics -- Law and justice -- Business and the economy -- Science and technology -- Medicine and health -- Education -- Religion -- Sports -- Lifestyles and social trends Each volume provides more than 300 illustrations, including photographs, comics, cartoons, posters, ads and other graphics Volumes close with selected bibliographies, a list of contributors, and indexes of subjects and photographs. Here are a few items of interest from the Art chapter of the current 1980s volume: Overview -- The Culture of Success -- The Art of Publicity -- Brats -- Revisiting the 1960s -- Selling the Counterculture Topics in the News -- AIDS and the Arts -- Hip-Hop Culture -- Hollywood Under Reagan -- Literary Stars -- Trends in Underground Music Headline Makers -- Martin Scorsese -- Madonna -- David Mamet -- Steven Spielberg -- Bruce Springsteen -- Meryl Streep -- August Wilson