Official Review: American Airborne Ads Of The 20s Thru Th...

raikyuu · Post by **raikyuu** » 18 Sep 2019, 20:14

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "American Airborne Ads Of The 20s Thru The 50s" by Kenneth Peck.]

3 out of 4 stars

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American Airborne Ads Of The 20s Thru The 50s is a non-fiction book that contains a collection of American advertisements between the 1920s and 1950s. The book focuses on “Parachutes” and “Airborne” as themes being used in advertising during that period. Based on his research on the history of US Army recruitment and advertising, Kenneth Peck puts together a work that serves as a historical artifact from that period.

The book starts with a brief history of parachutes and advertising, as these become the central themes of the book. The book covers different kinds of advertisements, ranging from recruitment ads to everyday-product ads. The advertisements feature the use of “Parachutes” and “Airborne” as themes to entice the consumers during that age. From these themes, the advertisements focus on selling products that present themselves as contributing to the American war effort. To appeal to different readers, the book is written in four different languages: English, Spanish, French, and German.

It is refreshing to see the ads in black-and-white and technicolor, as the colors reflect the age when these ads were made. The collection serves to highlight the high standing of parachute troops, which is evident from the advertisements themselves. By looking at the collection, one can see the evolution of advertising creeping from the 1920s to the 1950s, portraying the collection as a developing history. The book is truly a relic to be preserved.

Although the book contains a few word count, it still contains multiple errors. Examples include “Irvin was the first man to test this new design on April 28, 1919 becoming the first American to jump from an airplane and manually open a parachute in midair” and “The allure of Parachuting in Advertising began in the 1920s with companies like Keds Shoes and Listerine, by the 1930s the civilian record breaking parachute achievements of men and woman alike were being spotlighted on full cover Camel Cigarette advertisements and by the 1940s throughout WWII and into the 1950s.” The errors are mostly due to missing commas and hyphens. Based on the errors mentioned above, I can say that this book is not professionally edited.

While it is unfortunate that the book is not professionally edited, the collection is impressive enough to grant the book some historical significance. Overall, American Airborne Ads Of The 20s Thru The 50s is a good resource for looking into the American history of advertising. Because of all the factors mentioned above, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. While any American should check this book, I can also recommend it to those who are passionate about advertising.

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American Airborne Ads Of The 20s Thru The 50s
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Helene_2008 · Post by **Helene_2008** » 20 Sep 2019, 09:48

That's unfortunate the book wasn't professionally edited. I think if they edited the book in the future I might consider getting it for my husband. Being in the army, he enjoys history and this kind of thing.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 20 Sep 2019, 18:16

Wow! What a blast from the past. This would be fabulous to look through. I do hope that the author can clear up some of the errors. Thanks!

Nizar Ali Shah · Post by **Nizar Ali Shah** » 22 Sep 2019, 11:44

"American Airborne Ads of the 20s Thru The 50s" by Kenneth Peck.Advertisement plays a dominant role in showing the product to the market and without it people can not get to know the product, either it is a general product or weapons of war or both.
This is a non- fiction book that contains a collection of American advertisements between the 1920s -1950s. The book focuses on parachutes and airborne. This is based on research it is an organised endeavor to collect the important historical product of our era.This is a good resource for looking in to the American history of advertising.I am of the opinion that the book will be of importance for those who are passionate about advertising and airborne matters.

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 23 Sep 2019, 20:40

This sounds intriguing! These days you can't get people to look up from their devices to see anything. This is an interesting look into the past. I wonder how much people got paid to parachute with an ad? Great review.