This personal history of prominent Baltimoreans sheds light on the social transformations already taking place in the supposedly innocent 1950s.

Front Stoops in the Fifties recounts the stories of some of Baltimore's most famous personalities as they grew up during the "decade of conformity"-just before they entered the turbulent 1960s. Focusing on the period before JFK's assassination, Olesker looks to individuals who would go on to influence the brewing cultural revolution. Such familiar names as Jerry Leiber, Nancy Pelosi, Thurgood Marshall, and Barry Levinson figure prominently in Michael Olesker's fascinating account, which draws on personal interviews and journalistic research.

Olesker tells the story of Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi, daughter of the mayor, who grew up in a political home and eventually became the first woman Speaker of the House. Thurgood Marshall, schooled in a racially segregated classroom, went on to argue Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka before the U.S. Supreme Court and rewrite race-relations law. These and many other stories come to life in Front Stoops in the Fifties.

"[A] fascinating read . . . The shocking part is just how relevant these stories remain today." -Baltimore Post-Examiner

"[A] crisp, insightful dispatch from a skilled writer who knows his city and its history." -David Simon, executive producer of HBO's The Wire