Given America's obsession with youth, it is somewhat ironic that nostalgia--a persistent longing for the past as preferable to the present--also manifests itself ubiquitously in American culture. Sprengler (visual arts, U. of Western Ontario) presents a summary of the history of nostalgia in America as well as four case studies of the critically sophisticated use of the nostalgic aesthetic in contemporary cinema with particular focus on aspects of visual design such as props, costume, and color. Examples provided include Sin City, Far From Heaven, The Aviator, and The Good German. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)