At the end of WWII, themes in music shifted from soldiers' experiences at war to coming home, marrying their sweethearts, and returning to civilian life. The music itself also shifted, with crooners such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra replacing the Big Bands of years past. Country music, jazz, and gospel continued to evolve, and rhythm and blues and the new rock and roll were also popular during this Time. Music is not created without being influenced by the political events and societal changes of its time, and the Music of the Postwar Era is no exception.

“A masterful title that weaves together social, scientific, anthropological, and geographical influences on world history, this set will be the benchmark against which future history encyclopedias are compared… [and] belongs on the shelves of all high-school, public, and academic libraries. In short: buy it. Now.”

Volume III: The Upper Class explores the lives of the very rich, focusing on those in the top 5 percent of America's income level, including what they spent their money on, their ability to influence their communities, build companies through the timely infusion of capital, as well as their desire to party in Palm Beach or associate with the Dukes, Astors and Vanderbilts. Volume III: The Upper Class includes families whose only concern is making money, families whose only wish is to spend it and even some who are on the verge of losing the status often bestowed by wealth through bankruptcy.

This Second Volume in the Working Americans, 1880-1999 series focuses on the social and economic lives of the Middle Class. This volume captures the struggles of the middle class from the last twelve decades, a vast array of ethnic backgrounds and broad coverage of the nation. Covering jobs in several different types of occupational groups, from an architect to a tug boat captain, a newspaper editor to a minister, this volume provides a unique portrait of the lifestyles of middle class families that is not available in any other resource.