In the 1959 premiere episode of The Twilght Zone, Earl Holliman explores a town completely deserted. After helping himself to some ice cream from the drug store soda fountain, he encounters wire spinner racks full of paperbacks, one of which is filled entirely with copies of the ominously titled “The Last Man on Earth.”

In the age of the electronic book, wire book racks (as well as drug stores that serve ice cream) are things of the past. In the golden age of the paperback, though, they were how books made their way to the masses. Drug stores, supermarkets, newsstands, and even gas stations, each had spinning paperback racks somewhere; And, from there, the rugged cowboys, monstrous space aliens, and wicked femme fatales on the book covers all vied for your attention and your 35 cents.

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To say the television series “Mad Men” has been influential would be an understatement. Aside from influencing screen drama towards more meaningful storytelling, the show has also influenced fashion, beauty standards, and revived interest in the mid-20th century and the Atomic Age / Lounge sub-culture of today.

“Mad Men’s” approach to history has always been subtle. Its writers don’t “hang a lantern” on historical events and scream “Hey, this is important!” What’s history to us are merely the events of the day to Don, Joan, and Roger. Some of this is important to them (the Nixon / Kennedy election) and some of it is trivial (the first publication of “Lady Chatterly’s Lover” in America.)

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Animated trailer for Andrew O’Hagan’s new novel ‘The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe‘. Maf the dog was Marilyn’s constant companion for the last two years of her life. Through the eyes of Maf were provided with an insight into the life of Monroe herself, and a fascinating take on one of the most extraordinary periods of the twentieth century. The book is published by Faber and Faber in May 2010. Animation by Robin Davey.

Fellow fans of Ultra Swank are well aware that we are revelers in a cultural period of technology supreme. Be it Hi-Fi or Hydrogen Bomb if it had push buttons and chrome it was an object of desire! Few artists captured this ‘age of the machine’ better than Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965).

Immigrating from Russia to New York City in 1919, Artzybasheff’s career included over 200 Time Magazine covers and illustrations for over fifty books. He was a sought after advertising illustrator with clients including many of the Fortune 500. Looking at his style it’s not surprising that he was also an advisor to the Psychological Warfare Department of the U.S. during World War 2! Although he was capable of very realistic renderings, it was his surreal creations of machines as living creatures (a hidden vanity of technology) which endears him in the hearts of mid-century mavens of today.

His book As I See: The Fantastic World of Boris Artzybasheff is available to buy from Amazon for anyone who wants to dig deeper into Boris’ fantasy world.

The ever so great Taschen has done it again. This time with tickets to ride, fly, sail and drive, they cover 100-years of traveling from an American perspective. At 392 pages filled with spectacular illustrations, ads and other goodies for only $39.99 it’s a bargain and available to purchase in May. Which is your preferred way of traveling? By land, air or sea?

In less than 100 years, the U.S. mass-produced the automobile, invented airplanes, freeways, motels, even sent men to the Moon. Travel grew ever faster and easier. Above all, it was democratized — enabling millions to explore distant lands, or see their own more fully. At the start of the 20th century, only people with extensive disposable income and time to spare could enjoy leisure travel. By the century’s end, journeys took hours, not days, and mass travel — especially brief air flights — became the new normal. Along the way, ocean liners broke speed records, aerodynamic trains roared down the tracks, stylish boat-plane clippers evolved into jumbo jets. Whether aboard high-speed locomotives or ships, jets, or Greyhound buses — or when setting their own schedule on the open road — Americans demanded ever greater mobility and wider choice of destinations, thereby setting a new standard for travelers around the world.

This book looks really swell! There are probably no one left in the world who hasn’t heard about IKEA with its affordable build-it-your-self-furniture concept. Ingvar Kamprad, the man behind IKEA was only seventeen when started his soon to be blooming enterprise in 1943. Ten years later he opened his first IKEA store in Sweden. Today there are over 200 stores worldwide and as much as I love IKEA I also think it’s too ubiquitous and consumer driven. People throw away their furniture to buy new every two years because it’s so inexpensive, not stopping for two minutes reflecting on the design and functionality.

The book is titled “IKEA Design och Identitet” and can be bought from Adlibris if you live in Sweden. Which is your favorite IKEA piece?

IKEA’s catalogs are like a photo book of the Swedish home. Here contemporary living is reflected from the 1970s brown corduroy couches and painted pine kitchen tables to todays modern design of the PS-collection of top international class. It’s retro, nostalgia, present and future vision, all at once. But what lies behind such a strong concept that allowed them furnish almost every Swedish home for decades?