Print ISBN: 978-1-63700-008-3
# of Pages: 953
# of Volumes: 3
Print List Price: $395
e-ISBN: 978-1-63700-009-0
eBook User Price: $395
Free Online Access
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The 2010s in America

Editor: Mari Rich
November 2021


The 2010s was a turbulent decade that began with two major issues -- an uneven economic recovery and new Internet technologies -- both of which significantly shaped a decade of noteworthy political and economic events. This new title, in two volumes, includes essays on these important events and more, such as the smartphone, increased polarization and politicization, conspiracy theories, and bold, new activist movements focused on race in America. Essays also cover those topics that Americans were most concerned about as the decade drew to a close, including economic divisions, the rise of nationalism, the country’s failing infrastructure, increasing social fragmentation, as well as those persons most responsible.

Scope and Coverage

This illustrated three-volume encyclopedia covers events, movements, people, trends in popular culture, literature, art, sports, science, technology, economics, and politics in both the United States and Canada.

The 2010s in America boasts articles on such major events as the all-women spacewalk, school shootings, 3D printing, legalization of same-sex marriage, Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Russian hacking scandal, and cannabis regulation. Biographies of significant individuals of the decade include Pete Buttigieg, Michael Cohen, Elon Musk, Greta Thunberg, Edward Snowden, Lin Manuel Miranda, Donald Trump, Pope Francis, and Taylor Swift.

The decade saw reflective literature and the arts including books (The Fault in our Stars and All the Light we Cannot See), films (Frozen and Zero Dark Thirty), and TV shows (Schitt’s Creek and Breaking Bad); significant scientific developments including artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles; its share of disasters (the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill, mass shootings, and Superstorm Sandy); and social justice issues, including police shootings of black citizens (resulting in the Black Lives Matter movement), animal rights, and gene editing. The full breadth of the set’s essays can be seen in the many categories under which the essays fall.

Organization and Format

Every essay begins with a concise title followed by a brief description of the person, organization, work, concept, or event. Further headings attribute authorship, establish a date for the subject, and assign a location. Every essay features an "Impact" section, which examines the subject's broader importance during the 2010s. Special features include hundreds of images, maps and sidebars, timelines, tables and graphs, and facts and trends. To help researchers search through the content, the end of the title includes a List of Entries by Category and a detailed Subject Index.

Although essays in these volumes have been written to meet the needs of high school students and college undergraduates, the set’s clear and innovative approach to the decade and authoritative articles should also make it useful to more advanced students and scholars.

Special Features

Hundreds of images illustrate the articles in The 2010s in America. In addition, maps and sidebars—lists, timelines, tables, graphs, and textual extracts—highlight interesting facts and trends from the decade.

View a Full List of Titles from The Decades Series