Automobile and American Culture
In honor of the 250th birthday of the U.S.A., this book has been made free to read on Fulcrum. Find it here: https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.7219
Looks at the impact of the automobile on American folkways
Description
The Automobile and American Culture, edited by David L. Lewis and Laurence Goldstein, offers a sweeping exploration of the automobile’s impact on American society. Integrating both scholarly and popular approaches, this landmark anthology brings together essays, memoirs, fiction, poetry, and graphics to describe the profound and multifaceted impact of one of the twentieth century’s most fascinating inventions on American life. Now in its revised and expanded form, the collection provides an even closer look at the past, present, and future of America’s automobile revolution.
With contributions from acclaimed writers, artists, musicians, and scholars, this volume examines the automobile’s influence on every corner of American society—the city and the farm, fashion and art, domestic life, popular culture, youth, gender, sexuality, and the evolving American psyche. Iconic figures such as Chuck Berry, Carl Sandburg, and Bruce Springsteen appear alongside incisive academic analysis, underscoring the car’s central place in both creative imagination and lived experience.
Organized thematically, The Automobile and American Culture explores how the automobile not only transformed the physical landscape and economy, but also became a powerful cultural symbol—one both praised and critiqued as it shaped the nation’s identity, values, and dreams. From the industry’s Michigan roots to roadside Americana and critiques of modern car culture, this anthology stands as the definitive reference for anyone seeking to understand the enduring love affair between Americans and their cars, and the way this relationship continues to influence society today.
David L. Lewis is Professor of Business History, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Michigan. He is the author of the award-winning book, The Public Image of Henry Ford, as well as some 350 articles on the subject of automotive history.
Laurence Goldstein is Associate Professor of English, University of Michigan. He is the author of a book of literary history, Ruins and Empire, and a book of poetry, Altamira.