Review 120: Recollections by Jim Chambers

Recollections: A Baby Boomer’s Memories of the Fabulous Fifties
by Jim Chambers
Lulu.com
Copyright © 2009
ISBN: 9780557091003
Paperback $14.00
E-book $5.00

I have to admit I haven’t always been a fan of history. And even today I find myself more intrigued by the events our history books left out, or the people of our pasts who are just as important but less celebrated.  The fabulous fifties were my parent’s era, not mine. But what attracted me to Jim Chambers’ book was actually two things: the cover and the fact that it’s a personal memoir (although Jim says it’s not!) and not just a historical account.

Thanks to Wikimedia Commons, Jim’s book has an attractive cover made up of numerous black and white and color photos right from American culture that’s sure to catch the eyes and attention of anyone.  From Cracker Jacks to TV Dinners to Elvis to Eisenhower the cover, with its bright yellow background, draws the reader in and gives them lots of interesting things to relate to.  Without having read one single thing about this book beyond its cover, I knew I wanted to review it. True, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the fact that my opinion of the cover is positive speaks for itself. The author captured the essence and theme of his book perfectly, and this is a great example of just a good book cover all around!  Jim should definitely be proud.

That said, the story inside is just as amazing as the book’s outside. The Foreword begins with the age old question, “What if the hokey pokey really is what it’s all about?”  The author immediately reels you in by telling the reader about one of his favorite books, Bill Bryson’s The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, a recollection of what it was like to grow up in the 50s and 60s.  Jim then explains why the 50s were such an important period for those who were growing up at that time:  war, science, sports, literature, history, medicine.  The landmark of events was a never ending journey that commands attention. Here’s just a small list right from the introduction of the book:

• Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states
• WWII ended
• The Cold War began
• The Great Depression ended
• Women went to work
• The double helix DNA structure was discovered
• Polio Vaccine
• The Space Race between the US and the USSR
• Don Larsen pitched a perfect game at the ’56 World Series
• The Catcher in the Rye became a bestseller
• Marlon Brando won an Oscar
• Ben-Hur won 11 Academy Awards
• The Kinsey Reports were published
• Demonstrations led to the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act to be passed

And all of this and more in just the first four pages!  At the end of the Foreword, the author states, as I said before, that this is NOT a personal memoir.  And while it is indeed more of a historical account, the author does provide personal commentary along the way.  Just as the title states, the book is made of “recollections.”  The book has that “tell me ’bout the good ole days” feel to it while also keeping true to preserving the historical facts.  Jim’s account is not biased, although some parts definitely have that grumpy ole man “back in my day” feel to it. But rather than being grumpy about it, Jim just captures a simpler time that other baby boomers can only reminisce about now. He explains the way certain headlines made him feel and how they shaped and changed our country.

At only 135 pages, the book is divided into 12 chapters covering war, family, kids, arts, food, entertainment, shopping, travel, medicine, science, and more. I particularly liked the family chapter where Jim paints a picture that I even remember myself when my Mom stayed at home in the 80s to raise the kids and we didn’t even have cable TV:

Family life was in some ways simpler and less hectic in the Fifties than it is today. Since cities were much smaller then, commute times were shorter than today, so working fathers were usually home by 5:30 in the afternoon. When my dad got home from work, we all had dinner together. Meals were real sit-down family affairs, not the quick grab-a-bite-on-the-run things they often are today. My mother got up in the morning long before the rest of us did and started making biscuits from scratch and frying sausage or bacon and eggs (“It ain’t breakfast unless a pig died!”) Pillsbury made refrigerated canned biscuits that weren’t bad, but our mom insisted on making them from scratch every morning, even though it was a lot of work. Weekday lunches were at school, but dinner was a sit-down time to talk about the day and fill up with our mom’s wonderful home cooking. There weren’t many so called convenience foods then, so meals were made almost entirely from scratch, a very time-consuming process.

From the clothes drying on the line in the backyard to Leave It To Beaver playing on the black and white TV set, Jim Chambers’ Recollections is a fantastic journey down memory lane for the baby boomers and a trivia filled, historical reference for the younger generations.  I’d love to see the author extend Recollections to possibly include a 60s and 70s edition.

Like I said, I was just a baby day dream back then because my parents were in their teens in the 50s, but I can appreciate Chambers’ book for the beauty of a much simpler time he has captured that I would have loved to have experienced, that I miss today in our socially inept world that’s plugged in, downloaded, and wired for the future.  I plan to share my copy of his book with my parents because I know they will appreciate it too.  Thank you, Jim, for the memories!

Read a preview of Jim’s book here!