American Heritage is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and publishing a series called “50/50” to commemorate it. The series consists of five essays by prominent historians and cultural commentators, each picking ten leading developments in American life during the past 50 years. So far, two of the essays have been published.
The first essay was on Politics. The second is on Popular Culture. It was written by historian and critic Allen Barra, who names 11 “artists and writers who either were at the forefront of change or best symbolized it.” See the essay to read about each.
James Dean
Miles Davis
Raymond Chandler
Pauline Kael
Buddy Holly
Andy Warhol
Frank Sinatra
Ernie Kovacs
Norman Mailer
Francis Ford Coppola
Malcolm X