US history gets the star treatment with this essential guide to the Smithsonian's first permanent exhibition on pop culture, featuring objects like Muhammad Ali’s training robe, and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock ears, and Dorothy’s ruby slippers, oh my!
Winner of the Popular Culture Association's Ray and Pat Browne Best Edited Reference/Primary Source Work in Popular Culture Award
Entertainment Nation
is a star-studded and richly illustrated book celebrating the best of 150 years of US pop culture. The book presents nearly 300 breathtaking Smithsonian objects from the first long-term exhibition on popular culture, and features contributors like Billie Jean King, Ali Wong, and Jill Lepore.
offers the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the passion and grit of star athletes, the limelight of the music industry and theater, and the amazing entertainers we love to watch, with dazzling cultural touchstones like:
Music and Theater
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s
Hamilton
costume
John Coltrane’s saxophone
Selena's leather outfit
Film and Television
Captain America’s shield
Mr. Roger’s sweater
Seinfeld
’s puffy shirt
Sports
Mia Hamm’s Olympic jersey
Kristi Yamaguchi’s ice skates
Babe Ruth autographed baseball
The book
includes essays that contextualize the objects’ place in time and history, exploring how entertainment sparks conversation and debate, reveals social tensions and political power, and dictates who gets to be the hero or the villain. Taking a nostalgic look at old favorites and an exhilarating glimpse of contemporary attractions,
is a love letter to pop culture.