
20th Century > 1950s

A Painted House
by John Grisham
Until that September of 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. But in the long, hot summer of his seventh year, two groups of migrant workers--and two very dangerous men--came through the Arkansas Delta to work the Chandler cotton farm. And suddenly mysteries are flooding Luke's world. A brutal murder leaves the town seething in gossip and suspicion. And as young Luke watches the world around him, he unravels secrets that could shatter lives.

Cities of the Plain
by Cormac McCarthy
The setting is New Mexico in 1952, where John Grady Cole and Billy Parham are working as ranch hands. To the North lie the proving grounds of Alamogordo; to the South, the twin cities of El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. Their life is made up of trail drives and horse auctions and stories told by campfire light. It is a life that is about to change forever, and John Grady and Billy both know it.
Year: 1998
Genre: 1950s

L.A. Confidential
by James Ellroy
L.A. Confidential is epic "noir", a crime novel of astonishing detail and scope written by the bestselling author of The Black Dahlia. A horrific mass murder invades the lives of victims and victimizers on both sides of the law. And three lawmen are caught in a deadly spiral, a nightmare that tests loyalty and courage, and offers no mercy, grants no survivors.
Year: 1990
Genre: 1950s, Crime Fiction, Los Angeles

The Big Nowhere
by James Ellroy
Los Angeles, 1950 Red crosscurrents: the Commie Scare and a string of brutal mutilation killings. Gangland intrigue and Hollywood sleaze. Three cops caught in a hellish web of ambition, perversion, a nd deceit. The D. A.'s brass, a sheriff's deputy, and a rough-and-tumble bagman are unknowingly chasing a nightmare in this thrilling novel.
Year: 1988
Genre: 1950s, Crime Fiction, Los Angeles

The Blackboard Jungle
by Evan Hunter
After serving his country in World War II, Richard Dadier decides to become an English teacher--and for the sin of wanting to make a difference, he's hired at North Manual Trades High School. A tough vocational school in the East Bronx, Manual Trades is home to angry, unruly teenagers exiled from New York City's regular public schools. On his first day, Dadier endures relentless mockery and ridicule and makes an enemy of the student body by rescuing a female colleague from a vicious attack.
Year: 1954
Genre: 1950s, Crime Fiction
My Library | |||||||||||||||
Own | Read | Rating | Wish | Year | Title | Author | Series | Genres & Tags | |||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 2001 | A Painted House | John Grisham | 1950s, Suspense | ||||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1998 | Cities of the Plain | Cormac McCarthy | Border Trilogy | 1950s | |||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1990 | L.A. Confidential | James Ellroy | L.A. Quartet | 1950s, Crime Fiction, Los Angeles | |||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1988 | The Big Nowhere | James Ellroy | L.A. Quartet | 1950s, Crime Fiction, Los Angeles | |||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1954 | The Blackboard Jungle | Evan Hunter | 1950s, Crime Fiction | ||||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1957 | The Bridge at Andau | James A. Michener | 1950s | ||||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1993 | The Fifties | David Halberstam | 1950s | ||||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1979 | The Right Stuff | Tom Wolfe | 1950s, 1960s, Historical, Non-fiction | ||||||||
-- | -- | -- | -- | 1992 | White Jazz | James Ellroy | L.A. Quartet | 1950s, Crime Fiction, Los Angeles |