GOING GOING GONE: Vanishing Americana by...

GOING GOING GONE: Vanishing Americana by Susan Jones and Marilyn Nissenson (Chronicle: $18.95; 174 pp., paperback original). Jones and Nissenson have assembled a wonderful collection of campy old photographs of American pop culture; unfortunately, their text often proves less interesting than the illustrations. It does seem sad that penmanship, drive-in movies and soda fountains are disappearing. But “fan mags” haven’t vanished, they’ve just changed their focus, from movie stars to soap opera actors and bubble-gum heartthrobs. The Red menace, polio scares and the Motion Picture Production Code--whose departure no one regrets--seem out of place in a celebration of nostalgia.