American Reflections Description Page

The Great Nylon Wars	Thomas Edison—inventor of the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell—inventor of the telephone. Wallace Carothers? His invention would create one of the biggest conflicts on American soil since the Civil War.
Duck and Cover	As technology advances exponentially, the origins of now common items are as rapidly lost to memory. The first successful launch of a satellite by the Soviets touched off an urgent response by the United States that spawned programs rising to national importance. The yield of technologies that began in that time are now easily taken for granted as commonplace in everyday life. In "Duck and Cover" the subtle effects of technology are exemplified by a tiny satellite called Sputnik as it became another part of the American social landscape.
The Wall	The fall of the infamous Berlin Wall marked the end of Soviet domination of East Germany and the beginning of a new world-wide political environment. In “The Wall,” a son discovers how barriers in father and son relationships are also erected and fall over time.
Dear Barbie, c/o Ruth Handler, 1959	Barbie Collection Most girls growing up become quickly acquainted with the female icon popularized by Mattel—the toy doll that is named after Ruth Handler’s daughter and recognizable by her first name only—Barbie.
First Date
Diane Nash--Ticking	Civil Rights Movement Diane Nash and Curtis Murphy were two of the eight young black college students who came together as part of Reverend James Lawson’s workshops on nonviolence in the fifties. Risking everything—a college education for which their families had sacrificed much, as well as their lives—these eight young people, including Diane and Curtis, found themselves thrust into the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement beginning with the first day of the sit-ins at the lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee on February 13, 1960.
Diane Nash--Big Saturday
Curtis Murphy--Before Big Saturday
Curtis Murphy--After Big Saturday
The Chubby Checker Effect on the American Divorce Rate	A popular dance craze was created by Ernest Evans (nicknamed Chubby Checker by Dick Clark's wife) who performed his song "The Twist" on a variety of television programs including the October 22, 1961 episode of The Ed Sullivan Variety Hour. The dance reportedly had its birth in New York City at the nightclub called The Peppermint Lounge, where celebrities such as Zsa Zsa Gabor twisted the night away. The lounge was located in the Knickerbocker Hotel on 128 West 45th Street. The Peppermint Lounge house band, Joey Dee & the Starliters, recorded the "Peppermint Twist," but it wasn't until Chubby Checker's version included dance steps that it became a hit.
Ed and the Four Lads	The first appearance of the British musical group, The Beatles, on the Ed Sullivan Variety Hour is the event that ushered in maybe the first friendly invasion, later coined as the “British Invasion,” when British artists dominated American music sales in the U.S. through the mid 1960’s. No other single musical performance of its kind has surpassed the number of U.S. viewers to date. Few, if any, events linked common experience absent of tragedy through the then relatively new medium of television.
When Dylan Went Electric	Dylan’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival has been attributed as the turning point marking the decline of the popularity of folk music and it assimilation into popular music.
Dreams of Elvis	Very few artists in any discipline attain the status of pop icon. Even more rare is the icon whose popularity spans generations. The career of Elvis Presley and his meteoric rise to fame continues to intrigue historians of popular entertainment. As much as his music was a precursor to swelling radical changes in American music, the story of rising from obscurity and abject poverty to unprecedented popularity and wealth mirrored the hopes and dreams of his generation. In “Dreams of Elvis” the Memphis-born author examines how the presence of a popular icon spanned across his life and the path of his personal journey.
The Event That Revived the Feminist Movement	Great social movements are often spurred by obscure, overlooked events in the pages of history. The author takes a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach in denoting the event that could have been the empowering moment in the evolution of women’s rights.
Farrah Hair	*In the 1970s, Farrah Fawcett-Majors* became the most popular pinup poster girl since World War II’s Betty Grable. The favorite of all of the “Charlie’s Angels,” men and women alike admired her looks. Young men hung her likeness on their bedroom walls, and women flocked to hair salons, trying to imitate her hairstyle. “Farrah hair”was everywhere and is still immediately identifiable with a shimmering ‘70s era.
October 17, 1989, 5:04.2 P.M.	At the center of the official seal of San Francisco is the Phoenix, symbolizing how the city has been destroyed and has risen several times since its founding. San Franciscans live with the looming possibility of a temblor as a matter of everyday course. In the following poem, an eyewitness resident abruptly discovers how a momentary event can reveal universal truths found in the fragility everyday life.