- Taschenbuch: 332 Seiten
- Verlag: Basic Books; Auflage: New edition (7. Juni 2001)
- Sprache: Englisch
- ISBN-10: 0465070132
- ISBN-13: 978-0465070138
- Größe und/oder Gewicht: 2,3 x 1,5 x 0,2 cm
- Durchschnittliche Kundenbewertung: 3.7 von 5 Sternen Alle Rezensionen anzeigen (3 Kundenrezensionen)
- Amazon Bestseller-Rang: Nr. 419.892 in Englische Bücher (Siehe Top 100 in Englische Bücher)
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This fascinating study of the suburbs of Long Island, New York (and by analogy, those across America) arose from the authors' daily commute from Manhattan to SUNY Old Westbury, which is near Levittown, one of the earliest and perhaps the most famous of American suburbs. Initially they had imagined suburbia "as an anaesthetized state of mind, a no place dominated by a culture of conformity and consumption." Their research quickly taught them otherwise. While Picture Windows does document a growing obsession with middle-class consumer goods, like the televisions that came with 1950 houses at Levittown, it disrupts the myth of suburban serenity to reveal "a rich and stormy history" of political and social conflict. The planners and visionaries of suburbia, as the authors attest, tried to create a place "where ordinary people, not just the elite, would have access to affordable, attractive modern housing in communities with parks, gardens, recreation, stores, and cooperative town meeting places." Shunning the "snobbery" of cultural critics who deplored the "neat little toy houses on their neat little patches of lawn," Baxandall and Ewen find much to celebrate in the burgeoning suburbs. Most of those who flocked to the new towns had been crowded into city slums during the depression and war; they never questioned the architectural conformity of the suburbs, but only rejoiced in the chance of owning their own brand-new homes, places empty of anyone else's memories and rich with potential. Picture Windows is a quintessentially American story, told with skill and conviction. --Regina Marler
-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
From Booklist
American studies professors Baxandall and Ewen of State University of New York at Old Westbury came to their Long Island campus as urban snobs; they soon discovered neither the place nor their students fit their stereotypes. This "culture shock" produced their study of suburban America. The authors examine the growth of the robber barons' Gold Coast on Long Island's north shore but are more interested in the post^-World War II development of such working-and middle-class South Shore suburbs as Levittown and Roosevelt. They trace reformer patterns for suburban communities tested in the 1930s, then describe the intense battle waged by Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the real estate and construction industries to ensure private builders (not government) would control the postwar housing boom. Pioneers explain how they humanized the mass construction efforts of Levitt and others, and then dealt with issues like integration. In the late '90s, the suburbs are receiving new immigrants, and the authors question whether, with no significant public role in housing, these aging communities can meet these new needs. Mary Carroll
-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
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Einleitungssatz
The name Long Island evokes images of a new suburban life that many Americans first experienced during the prosperous years after the second world war. Lesen Sie die erste Seite
Buchdeckel | Copyright | Inhaltsverzeichnis | Auszug | Stichwortverzeichnis | Rückseite
The name Long Island evokes images of a new suburban life that many Americans first experienced during the prosperous years after the second world war. Lesen Sie die erste Seite
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Buchdeckel | Copyright | Inhaltsverzeichnis | Auszug | Stichwortverzeichnis | Rückseite
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Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
"Picture Windows" is a unique analysis of the suburban phenomenon, to be sure. Knowing that it was written by two New York city professors, I approached it with mild trepidation, expecting the familiar attitude of New Yorkers toward Long Islanders. And although that attitude - that Long Islaners, and suburbanites at large, are cretinous, culturally void ciphers - is pretty well suppressed here, Baxandall and Ewen fail to entirely conceal their snobbery, even as they admit to it. In many of the extracts from their interviews of Long Islanders, and in their analyses of these people's thoughts, one detects the faintest smirk of condescension.
Nonetheless, "Picture Windows" is an interesting read. In particular, the chapters about suburban life in the 1950s and the struggles surrounding integration are thoughtful and well written. The first sections cover, in sometimes excruciating detail, the political battles that arose pre- and postwar about who should house the unhoused. Baxandall and Ewen's coverage of the politics of housing can, at times, encourage faster page turning, as the desire to skip over long sections about congressional hearings grows. Perhaps one chapter on this would have sufficed. But the book does pick up speed and reawaken the reader's interest once this background material is exhausted.
For the most part, "Picture Windows" is a worthwhile book. The snobbery the authors question and seemingly decry is not absent, though it is cleverly hidden. One pictures Levittown, enclosed in an enormous glass cage, and the authors, standing at a safe distance taking notes and wondering what it is that makes these suburbanites tick. And some sections read like the phone book and could stand some trimming. Otherwise, for urbanites and suburbanites alike, "Picture Windows" is a useful study.
One final note: Either this book didn't pass through any kind of copy editing and proofreading stages at all, or those doing the jobs were watching the game and having a Bud at the time. It seemed not a page went by without some glaring grammatical or typographical error. Hopefully, the problems will be corrected in future printings.
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
Is living in the suburbs, the nice green lawns, the big houses, the picture perfect family life that seems to be accepted norm? Picture Windows may paint a completely different outlook and you might be surprise to read what they have to say.
Thinking the book was another liberal based, social agenda book, I discovered that the book details how suburbs have evolved over the lat 100 years and how stereo typical attitudes have perpetuated the myths I have come to accept.
The authors' breakdown the essence of the suburbia lifestyles showing you the evolution of the growth of communities away from the big city. They also explain how racial segregation, women's' liberation, integration and immigration have all played a part in the growth of suburbs.
The Authors' provide convincing arguments, and while I may not agree with some of the points, I found that they had provided facts to back up their claims. The book is an easy read and most enjoyable. You can check out Basic Books web site for more information.
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
Just had a chance to read "Picture Windows." Finally, a book about the suburbs that doesn't just reiterate one-dimensional cliches about conformity. Real people and real history, with amazing links to the history of the housing issue in the United States. I was especially interested by material on links between Joe McCarthy and the tract housing industry in the forties. Refreshing and illuminating.
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