"Peter Stearns argues that twentieth-century cultural styles stunt and stifle the emotions behind a veneer of cool. With a breathtaking scholarly sweep through the development of this concept of cool, he provokes and compels us to rethink our very understanding of the American character. Without a doubt, this is the best of Stearn's work on the history of emotions to date, and should be read by all who are concerned about the current crisis in American values." --Kevin White, University of Sussex
Cool. The concept, distinctly American, permeates almost every aspect of contemporary American society. From Kool cigarettes and the Peanuts cartoon's Joe Cool to "West Side Story" and urban slang, the idea of cool, in its many manifestations, has seized a central pla Less
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