A mysterious success:Doctor Spock and the Netherlands in the 1950s

This article examines the success of Doctor Benjamin Spock's best selling “The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care” (1946). It focuses on the case of the Netherlands during the 1950s. As in the United States, the book immediately became extremely popular after the first Dutch edition was published in 1950. In this case, however, the doctor's success was not at all likely, as conditions that are commonly held responsible were absent. First, the authors discuss the explanations of Spock's popularity in the United States. His book is generally considered an expression of the developing consu... Mehr ...