"Marcus makes a compelling and well-documented case that the post-1970 culture wars have been fought in large part in terms of competing understandings of the Fifties and Sixties. This is a smart, illuminating study of the political uses of nostalgia."-Paul S. Boyer, editor-in-chief, The Oxford Companion to United States History

"This is a terrific and important book. The author weaves together popular cultural influences and politics in a masterly way. In so doing he has advanced the narrow view of cultural studies into the public realm with a bang." -Lary May, author of The Big Tomorrow: Hollywood and the Politics of the American Way

In the twenty-first century, why do we keep talking about the Fifties and the Sixties? The stark contrast between these decades, their concurrence with the childhood and youth of the baby boomers, and the emergence of television and rock and roll help to explain their symbolic power. In Happy Days and Wonder Years, Daniel Marcus reveals how interpretations of these decades have figured in the cultural politics of the United States since 1970.

From Ronald Reagan's image as a Fifties Cold Warrior to Bill Clinton's fandom for Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy, politicians have invoked the Fifties and the Sixties to connect to their public. Marcus shows how films, television, music, and memoirs have responded to the political nostalgia of today, and why our entertainment remains immersed in reruns, revivals, and references to earlier times. This book offers a new understanding of how politics and popular culture have influenced our notions of the past, and how events from long ago continue to shape our understanding of the present day.

Daniel Marcus is an assistant professor in the department of communication at Wayne State University. As a member of the Paper Tiger Television collective, he edited ROAR! The Paper Tiger Guide to Media Activism.