A brief survey of U.S. history since the end of World War II, focusing on popular beliefs, fears, and hopes that have shaped American culture and history over the last eight decades. Throughout its history, an enduring, though often challenged, belief in the American Dream has provided the United States with a strong national identity. The force of the Dream has functioned like an electric current, surging in ways that have been both channeled and impeded in the pursuit of national goals. Alternating Currents: The United States since 1945 explores the perceptions as well as the realities of that power at home and abroad. The narrative incorporates cultural, political, and social history to provide a comprehensive narrative of recent America, and gives particular attention to mass media, the fine arts, and intellectual currents of the times. Concise and engagingly written, Alternating Currents presents a unique analysis of U.S. history since 1945 and the energies that have shaped contemporary America.