This series of small, thick bricks of books is entirely photographic. You get the flavour of the times without the waffle! ( )

The Hulton Getty picture collection is the largest in the world, with more than 15 million photographs, engravings, and prints. The series that includes this book presents photographs from each of the decades of the 20th century. Each book contains 400 pages, with one gray-scale photograph per page. The photos in The 1950s are organized into 15 chapters, and illustrate political activity and events (with such chapters as "Movers and Shakers," "Conflict", "Living with the Bomb"), social life ("Work," "Leisure," "Entertainment," "The Arts," "Fashion," "Youth,", and "Children") and other activities (e.g. "Science," "Transport," and "Sport"). Each chapter has a few paragraphs of text, printed in English, German, and French, and each photo bears a brief description shown in all three languages.

Most of the photographs are of fine to excellent quality. One notable feature is that the choices of photos show a distinctly British perspective. Thus, the chapter on racial issues shows conflicts in Great Britain (with but one photo each from the US and one from South Africa). Those illustrating "Youth" show English teens and "teddy boys -- (no US beatnicks or folk singers here), and only those rock musicians based in (or visiting) England. While a parochial regional focus is perhaps understandable of a London-based collection, prospective readers ought not assume anything like worldwide perspective. Even chapters on international events show a British focus (British soldiers in Malaya, Kenya, and Port Said), although events in Europe that were of particular concern (the Soviet invasion of Hungary and occupation of Berlin) also are illustrated.

A few other features contribute to making this collection less than it might have been. The photo descriptions are very brief, and commonly do not provide sufficient context or description of what is depicted; likewise, photographers are only seldom identified. The index is minimal, and offers no additional information. In addition, the photos are smaller than optimal (the book itself measures about 6" /15cm on a side, and photos often are 2/3rds that). Then again, the alternative could have been a series of "coffee- table" books with prohibitive prices.

Overall, these photos offer a glimpse into a historically - distant decade, and if it encourages some to seek out more information, perhapos it serves a function. After all, some extremely amazing people trace their origins to the 1950s. ( )