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A decade that changed the world
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Perhaps more than any other moment in history, the turn of the millennium, and the arrival of a new decade, was marked with a mixture of hope, scepticism and feverish speculation. But the first decade of the 21st century was an awkward child; no-one even really knew its name… From an initial feeling of anticlimax, the decade soon lurched into terror and war, and ended with financial meltdown – all to the soundtrack of irritating ringtones. This was a decade that freed us up – you could tweet Tony Blair, poke Paris Hilton or just be yourself on YouTube. It was also a decade that tied us down, with fear, suspicion and CCTV lurking on every corner. From the ‘Millennium Bug’ to bird flu, from 9/11 to 7/7, from Bebo to iPod and Wiki to Wii, one way or another it has been a remarkable decade. This is the story of how the Noughties made a name for itself. Tim Footman is the author of Welcome to the Machine: OK Computer and the Death of the Classic Album. Formerly the editor of The Guinness Book of Records and PUSH University Guide, Tim has also written for The Guardian, Mojo, Time Out and Prospect.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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It could be argued that with it still being 2009 and all that it is too early to be publishing an overview of the decade we are still living through - the one given the silly sounding moniker the noughties. ( though I ,m jiggered if I could come up with a better phrase) For as the author puts it "This book is about the past albeit( as I write) a past so recent that the edges blur imperceptibly into nowness without us being able to distinguish the difference ".
Ignoring that though and judging the book on it's written merits I thoroughly enjoyed Tim Footman's book .which covers the massively imperative with the more flippant and trivial ( or so it would seem) but treats all subjects with wit, erudition and due consideration. So he flips from the millennium bug to the dome ( a vast polyester tent ") 9/11 to the war on terror ( of which he asks "how can you wage war on an abstract concept ?") environmental concerns, the democratisation brought about by the internet, the credit crunch , surveillance erosion of privacy and civil liberties , shopping and consumerism as placebo , the rise of China as a global super power, reality TV and by dint of that Susan Boyle and Jade Goody .
It is also a useful pointer for books and films relevant to the subjects covered .He even covers his five "Records " that summarize the decade. "Hallelujah "Hallelujah by Alexandra Burke is one which at first seems odd but then makes perfect sense and I'm with him 100% about John Cales version being the best. It may seem ridiculous to discuss 9/11( he raises the point that America needs enemies and after the thawing of the cold war 9/11 gave "The American Superman a few Lex Luthers to take the blame ") in the same book as Jade Goody ("Her special quality was her own her own exceptional mediocrity ") but both figured hugely in the decade , though one could wish fervently neither had.
The book is fairly concise , less than 200 pages , and some might wish for a more in-depth analysis like the book about Britain in the seventiesWhen the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies .But as it is Tom Footman does a good job in defining the decade where styles stood still ( He makes a point about comparing fashions at either end of decades and it's true. The 60,s/70,s 80,s even the 90,s saw immense transformations ..but not the noughties. Is it because we now live a more introverted lifestyle on our computers/ game boys / I -pods etc? ....hmmmm) He is a bit sniffy, snobbish even, about Amazon reviews "The reviews on Amazon are as powerful an argument against democracy as you could find "(He is quoting someone else here actually but it's rather ironic given that this book has been encouraged to receive reviews) His conclusion that the two defining themes of this decade are technology and fear are hard to discount but it is also the fact we have so much information so readily available but are we making the most of it ? It would seem many questions about the noughties remain to be answered and the definitive book on the decade therefore remains to be written ..
Ignoring that though and judging the book on it's written merits I thoroughly enjoyed Tim Footman's book .which covers the massively imperative with the more flippant and trivial ( or so it would seem) but treats all subjects with wit, erudition and due consideration. So he flips from the millennium bug to the dome ( a vast polyester tent ") 9/11 to the war on terror ( of which he asks "how can you wage war on an abstract concept ?") environmental concerns, the democratisation brought about by the internet, the credit crunch , surveillance erosion of privacy and civil liberties , shopping and consumerism as placebo , the rise of China as a global super power, reality TV and by dint of that Susan Boyle and Jade Goody .
It is also a useful pointer for books and films relevant to the subjects covered .He even covers his five "Records " that summarize the decade. "Hallelujah "Hallelujah by Alexandra Burke is one which at first seems odd but then makes perfect sense and I'm with him 100% about John Cales version being the best. It may seem ridiculous to discuss 9/11( he raises the point that America needs enemies and after the thawing of the cold war 9/11 gave "The American Superman a few Lex Luthers to take the blame ") in the same book as Jade Goody ("Her special quality was her own her own exceptional mediocrity ") but both figured hugely in the decade , though one could wish fervently neither had.
The book is fairly concise , less than 200 pages , and some might wish for a more in-depth analysis like the book about Britain in the seventiesWhen the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies .But as it is Tom Footman does a good job in defining the decade where styles stood still ( He makes a point about comparing fashions at either end of decades and it's true. The 60,s/70,s 80,s even the 90,s saw immense transformations ..but not the noughties. Is it because we now live a more introverted lifestyle on our computers/ game boys / I -pods etc? ....hmmmm) He is a bit sniffy, snobbish even, about Amazon reviews "The reviews on Amazon are as powerful an argument against democracy as you could find "(He is quoting someone else here actually but it's rather ironic given that this book has been encouraged to receive reviews) His conclusion that the two defining themes of this decade are technology and fear are hard to discount but it is also the fact we have so much information so readily available but are we making the most of it ? It would seem many questions about the noughties remain to be answered and the definitive book on the decade therefore remains to be written ..
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are still four months left of the 2000s at the time of writing, but Tim Footman, author of this excellent overview, believes that symbolically speaking, the decade is already over. It was a 'decade' that lasted a little over seven years, sandwiched between the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11 2001 and the collapse of Lehman Bros on September 15 2008.
Those two catastrophic events evoke many of the grand themes of the decade, at least as it was experienced in the West: runaway capitalism, the War on Terror, the foreign and domestic policy of the Bush administration, and the increasingly confusing commingling of the physical and real with the virtual and 'unreal'.
Between those two bookends, it was a short decade characterised mainly, Footman says, by two things: fear and technology. From identity cards to illegal MP3s, from Osama bin Laden's grainy videos to the army of blogs that rose to challenge the established media, technology seemed to spread fear among everyone from industry moguls to the man/woman in the CCTV-surveilled street.
But this isn't a heavyweight history book. Tim Footman's specialism is pop culture, and you're more likely to find him pondering the significance of Lily Allen, or the BBC remake of Survivors, or the Glastonbury festival. And if all those things sound particularly British, that's because the book describes the Noughties primarily as they were experienced in Britain, with relevant nods to the US, China and Thailand (where the author currently lives).
If you've been watching television, reading blogs and following the news for the last ten years, this book may not tell you much you don't already know (although I did learn that the hip-hop producer Danger Mouse's real name is Brian). But for anyone seeking to put the confusing and often distressing events of the past decade into some sort of context, it's an excellent first port of call.
DISCLOSURE: I was surprised and pleased to learn that I apparently had a small hand in the creation of this book, according to the acknowledgments. I should disclose that Tim is a friend of mine, in an appropriately Noughties sense of the word: we've only met once, but we read each other's blogs and have exchanged many thoughts and ideas over the past few years, especially on the blurring of boundaries between the virtual and the real; the subject of the book's Chapter 5.
Those two catastrophic events evoke many of the grand themes of the decade, at least as it was experienced in the West: runaway capitalism, the War on Terror, the foreign and domestic policy of the Bush administration, and the increasingly confusing commingling of the physical and real with the virtual and 'unreal'.
Between those two bookends, it was a short decade characterised mainly, Footman says, by two things: fear and technology. From identity cards to illegal MP3s, from Osama bin Laden's grainy videos to the army of blogs that rose to challenge the established media, technology seemed to spread fear among everyone from industry moguls to the man/woman in the CCTV-surveilled street.
But this isn't a heavyweight history book. Tim Footman's specialism is pop culture, and you're more likely to find him pondering the significance of Lily Allen, or the BBC remake of Survivors, or the Glastonbury festival. And if all those things sound particularly British, that's because the book describes the Noughties primarily as they were experienced in Britain, with relevant nods to the US, China and Thailand (where the author currently lives).
If you've been watching television, reading blogs and following the news for the last ten years, this book may not tell you much you don't already know (although I did learn that the hip-hop producer Danger Mouse's real name is Brian). But for anyone seeking to put the confusing and often distressing events of the past decade into some sort of context, it's an excellent first port of call.
DISCLOSURE: I was surprised and pleased to learn that I apparently had a small hand in the creation of this book, according to the acknowledgments. I should disclose that Tim is a friend of mine, in an appropriately Noughties sense of the word: we've only met once, but we read each other's blogs and have exchanged many thoughts and ideas over the past few years, especially on the blurring of boundaries between the virtual and the real; the subject of the book's Chapter 5.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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It's hard to truly judge this book at this moment in time. It's not really designed to be read now. It will only become worthwhile when you uncover it from the bottom of a wardrobe a decade or so from now. Then it will be a fascinating period piece. Although it tells us what we already know with no new insights or great flair, and it's superficial and insultingly obvious, years later after all the details have been long forgotten it will be a treasure trove of interesting information.
For the reader of today it's a smooth if uninspired read that quickly descends into just a list of movies and books you might want to check out. Also the footnotes are annoying as they're at the end of the book instead of at the bottom of the page. A strange design decision.
I wouldn't recommend the book but perhaps one day it will be an interesting read. One for people who are good at delaying gratification. Today 2 stars (it's readable and is mostly harmless), perhaps 5 stars a lot of years from now.
For the reader of today it's a smooth if uninspired read that quickly descends into just a list of movies and books you might want to check out. Also the footnotes are annoying as they're at the end of the book instead of at the bottom of the page. A strange design decision.
I wouldn't recommend the book but perhaps one day it will be an interesting read. One for people who are good at delaying gratification. Today 2 stars (it's readable and is mostly harmless), perhaps 5 stars a lot of years from now.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A nostalgic look back at the 00s
A great little book that takes an easy yet informative look back at the noughties decade - whilst not long ago, a period of dramatic change in the world.
Published 1 month ago by Lumpster
Nice look back over the past 10 years
There's been so many of these Best Bits / Top Moments type things on the telly recently and a fair share of them usually never go into enough depth or get the balance totally wrong... Read more
Published 6 months ago by L. Green
Very weak
Compared with reviews of previous decades this is extremely weak with little detail or impact - especially compared with some reviews of the eighties such as No Such Thing As... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Ms. J. Roberts
A Brief Look at a Ground-breaking Decade
The cover of `The Noughties' is bright and breezy and hints at a read on a fairly facile level. But the book is more than that; in a relatively short space (around 200 pages) the... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by G. J. Oxley
More serious than it appears
This book is packaged in a colourful cover, with fun looking circles featuring a series of pictures gracing the front. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2010 by J.E.T
Brought back some memories ....
This book was released just before the "noughties" finished. It was brought out to sum up what has happend to the world in the last decade. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2010 by Mr. S. Jeyes
A bite-sized trawl through a definitive decade
Those of you looking for an in-depth and weighty look at the noughties should look elsewhere. What this book does is give a very clear and concise review on the events and trends... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2010 by D. Macphee
Excellent Portrait Of A Decade
The noughties were mainly a decade of self-obsession, with celebs playing up and people social networking like there was no tomorrow, feeling that we were interested in their muses... Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2010 by DL Productions UK
10 Years is a long time
I was pleasantly suprised how welll written, intelligent and reflective this book is. It's well worth buying and I can see myself rereading it in a few years time. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2010 by debbie8355
An excellent, if short, review of the decade.
Ten years is a long period of time to cover in a mere 224 pages, but Tim Footman does an admirable job overall. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2010 by A. Taylor
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