Two themes frequently dominate textbook treatments of American popular culture after World War I: the enthusiastic embrace of motor vehicles and the explosive growth of big cities. But many Americans did not have cars and almost half did not live in any kind of urban center. How did cars and trucks, deliverers of mobility and freedom, change the lives of all Americans, even those who did not own them? And how did the city — with its amusements, temptations, and opportunities — transform American life along broad boulevards and country lanes?
