Not Like Us: How Europeans Loved, Hated and Transformed American Culture Since World War II - Hardcover

Pells, Richard H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465001645 ISBN 13: 9780465001644

Publisher: Basic Books, 1997

Synopsis

It is commonplace today to assume that American culture drives global culture, but what is not immediately clear, yet no less true, is that despite the Marshall Plan, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, EuroDisney and "Baywatch," Europe has been able to preserve its cultural distinctiveness and resist embracing the "American way of life." Richard Pells not only shows how the Europeans resisted and altered American culture to fit their own needs and tastes, but how Americans were as attracted to Europe's fashions and consumer goods as Europeans were influenced by America's technology and mass entertainment. The issues he discusses continue to resonate today, as Americans and Europeans alike face the problem of how to enjoy the benefits of a global culture and economy while maintaining their attachments to local, regional and national institutions. With its rich historical narrative and astute cultural observations, "Not Like Us" provides a new paradigm for understanding the survival of local and national cultures in a global setting."The details are fascinating, the insights unfailingly illuminating. This is serious history at its entertaining best."--Allen J. Matusow, Rice University"A bold, beautifully written account of the impact (and surprising limits) of Hollywood and burger King, the Marshall Plan and Disneyland, on Western Europeand the great world beyond."--David M. Oshinsky, Rutgers University

About this title

About the Author:

Richard Pells is a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. He has held visiting professorships at universities in the Netherlands, Denmark, Brazil, and Australia, and has lectured widely in Europe and America on topics in cultural history. The author of The Liberal Mind in a Conservative Age and Radical Visions and American Dreams, he lives in Austin, Texas.

Synopsis:

A cultural history showing how America tried to remake Europe in its own image and how Europeans successfully retained their own identity, altering American culture to fit their needs and tastes. It shows how Americans were as attracted to Europe's fashions and goods as Europeans were influenced by America's technology and mass entertainment.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0465001645
• ISBN 13: 9780465001644
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464