American Icons An Encyclopedia of the People, Places, and Things that Have Shaped Our Culture

Subjects:

• Popular Culture » Popular Culture (General)
• Popular Culture » American Studies
• History » American History (General)

Reviews:

• "The 116 entries assigned iconic status in these volumes represent a tapestry of American life and experience, e.g., John Wayne, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Coney Island, the Crayola crayon, Martin Luther King Jr., antiperspirant, and more. Each approximately seven-page essay traces the history of the person, place, or thing, focusing on the previously discussed elements constituting its iconic status. This encyclopedia is targeted to a general readership, but scholars of American culture and popular culture can profitably use it. Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers."
  —Choice 1/1/2006
• "America is icon crazy; any person, place, or thing that grabs our collective attention for more than a week becomes a potential icon, a cultural emblem of our society. This encyclopedia by editors Dennis Hall and independent scholar Susan Grove Hall and their academic contributors has winnowed the vast field down to 100 icons, chosen by surveying current iconographic research and testing for relevance with various age groups....Iconographic issues are touched on in many other reference works on popular culture, such as American Decades and the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, but none treats them so specifically. This entertaining and informative reference work is recommended for high school, college, and public libraries."
  —Library Journal 9/1/2006
• "Aimed at students and general readers, this three-volume reference examines a variety of icons that exemplify American culture. Each essay reveals a particular icon's origins and changes, discusses its influences, and considers the meaning of its enduring appeal or negative connotations. Organized alphabetically by topic, the entries cover a diverse range of subjects, including (for example) the banjo, flea markets, Oprah Winfrey, guns, Wal-Mart, the Muppets, John Wayne, suburbia, the Golden Gate Bridge, and cell phones."
  —Reference & Research Book News/Art Book News Annual 2007 November 2006
• "Teens should enjoy this examination of cultural icons, some part of their landscape and some less familiar."
  —Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin February 15, 2007
• "This reference contains alphabetically arranged, well-written entries with thorough analyses, b&w illustrations, and works cited."
  —Library Media Connection March 2007
• "American culture scholars and pop culture junkies rejoice! American Icons is a collection suitable for studying or just browsing, and it has something for everyone....These icons may elicit good, bad, or indifferent responses, but they are all familiar. Even if you're not a fan of Oprah Winfrey and her various pursuits, you know who she is, and you can learn more about her in this work....This collection is highly recommended and appropriate for high school and college students as well as the general public."
  —Reference & User Services Quarterly Spring 2007
• "This treasure trove of information provides an up-close-and-personal look at an eclectic potpourri of people, places, and things that for some reason have special resonance for Americans....[t]he set provides a wealth of themes, suggestions of possible patterns among them, and how cultural icons are influenced by, and in turn influence different generations."
  —VOYA April 2007

Table of Contents:

• Acknowledgments
  Introduction
  Entries
  Index
  About the Contributors

PDF Catalogs:
Pop Culture Spring 2008.pdf	Sale Catalog 2008.pdf

PDF Brochures:

Icons of Popular Culture 2007.pdf