The Power of the Zoot
Youth Culture and Resistance during World War II
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 22. September 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-520-26154-9 (ISBN)
Description
Flamboyant zoot suit culture, with its ties to fashion, jazz and swing music, jitterbug and Lindy Hop dancing, unique patterns of speech, and even risque experimentation with gender and sexuality, captivated the country's youth in the 1940s. "The Power of the Zoot" is the first book to give national consideration to this famous phenomenon. Providing a new history of youth culture based on rare, in-depth interviews with former zoot-suiters, Luis Alvarez explores race, region, and the politics of culture in urban America during World War II. He argues that Mexican American and African American youths, along with many nisei and white youths, used popular culture to oppose accepted modes of youthful behavior, the dominance of white middle-class norms, and expectations from within their own communities.
Reviews / Votes
"Diligently charts a culture's exemplar, the zoot suit, and connects it to modern fashion and music ... It is a compelling window into the U.S. in the war years as seen from a much different point of view." The Morning News "Deserves much credit for analyzing youth fashion during the era of swing jazz as a national phenomenon ." The Journal Of American History "Colorful, entertaining, and frequently enlightening... Alvarez leaves us asking for more." New Mexico Historical Review "[Alvarez's] scholarship is now the best and most comprehensive book on Zoot Suit culture, society, and race conflict during World War II." H-Urban "The work is admirable wide and deep." Journal Of World History "[A] fascinating work of scholarship." Left History "A solid contribution to the field." Winterthur Portfolio: Journal Of American Material CultureMore details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
18 b-w photographs, 2 line illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-26154-9 (9780520261549)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2008
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€28.99
Available for download
Person
Luis Alvarez is Associate Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego.
Content
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments and Dedication Introduction PART ONE. DIGNITY DENIED: YOUTH IN THE EARLY WAR YEARS 1. Race and Political Economy 2. Class Politics and Juvenile Delinquency PART TWO. THE STRUGGLE FOR DIGNITY: ZOOT STYLE DURING WORLD WAR II 3. Zoot Style and Body Politics 4. Zoots, Jazz, and Public Space PART THREE. VIOLENCE AND NATIONAL BELONGING ON THE HOME FRONT 5. Zoot Violence in Los Angeles 6. Race Riots across the United States Epilogue: From Zoot Suits to Hip-Hop Notes Bibliography Index