Astronaut Edwin Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969. Photo: Nasa

French diplomat Talleyrand said that whoever did not live in the years prior to the French Revolution did not know what the pleasure of living meant.

Similarly, those who were not teenagers or adults in the 1950s and 1960s have no idea how carefree, exciting, idealistic and forward-looking were those two decades compared to today’s world threatened by terrorism on city streets and marred with a sense of impending crisis and doom.

The dynamic 1950s witnessed the exciting beginning of rock ’n’ roll in the United States and la dolce vita in Rome.

The 1960s brought us Beatlemania and Swinging London and the exciting race to the moon.

They were just some of the highlights that made those two decades so thrilling and unforgettable.