- Paperback: 159 pages
- Publisher: St Martin's Press (1 Jan 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312144369
- ISBN-13: 978-0312144364
- Product Dimensions: 27.2 x 21.6 x 1.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 755,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Matthew Rettenmund, with his sharp eye and his knowing prose, sounds like one of the freshest voices on the block."--"The New York Times Book Review"
"Matthew Rettenmund not only gets it all down, he gets it all right."--Kurt Loder, MTV News, on "Encyclopedia Madonnica"
"Matthew Rettenmund is a clever and witty new writer."--Greg Johnson, author of "Pagan Babies"
"Matthew Rettenmund not only gets it all down, he gets it all right."--Kurt Loder, MTV News, on "Encyclopedia Madonnica"
"Matthew Rettenmund is a clever and witty new writer."--Greg Johnson, author of "Pagan Babies"
Synopsis
IN
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Being an 80s junkie, I liked this book a great deal. It is arranged as a series of lists (e.g. 10 hottest foods of the 80s), so it's very easy reading and you can quickly find what you're looking for (although it lacks an index). You'll find lots of great 80s music, movie and TV references in here, and I'm sure you'll get a good laugh out of it too (which may be the book's greatest asset).
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
23 reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Totally Tubular!
22 Oct 2000
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was six years old going into the 80's and sixteen coming out of them and I swear I remember how glad I was when that decade finally ended. Now I find myself gripped by nostalgia (gasp!) and I'm buying books like this. Go figure. I wonder, though, will the opposite be true? Will I eventually HATE the 90's, a decade I thought was pretty great? Maybe, but I digress...
Rettenmund does a tremendous job of categorizing the culture, music, movies, and tv shows of the 80's, placing them into neat little lists like "Ten Albums You Threw Out In Embarrassment in 1990 That You'd Give Anything To Have Back" or "Ten Big Action Flicks Of The 80's." He also adds a nice set of appendices at the end in case you'd like to see who won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1982 (Men At Work) or the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1986 (John Larroquette). Very thorough.
I do have a few compaints, though. The greatest complaint being the absence of an index, for those of us who want to know where all of the Tears For Fears references are RIGHT AWAY. And I suppose the lists were the easiest way Rettenmund could present an overview of ten years of pop culture, but lists of this nature are always subjective in nature, aren't they? I mean, he calls Madonna's "Into The Groove" The ULTIMATE 80's Song (a great song but the ultimate one? I'm not sure...) and says "Rain Man" was one of the most overrated movies of the decade ("Out of Africa" being at the top of his list). Still, I doubt anyone is going to throw the book down in anger because Rettenmund thinks "Out Of Africa" was the most overrated movie of the decade (except for Meryl Streep maybe).
Also, Rettenmund either starts or finishes almost every listing with glib one-liners which do get a little tiring, especially if you read a lot of the book in one sitting. But they do their job and add to the light-hearted mood of the book, which is the point of all this anyway, right? Of course. And in that respect, Rettenmund succeeds and has put together the best pop culture book on the 80's I've found so far. Definitely a worthwhile purchase for everyone in the MTV Generation. Radical!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Great subject matter, irritating narative
27 Nov 2002
Format:Paperback
As a child of the 80's, I looked forward to this book after reading it's great reviews.
If you are looking for a book that will take you back to to the decade of Flashdance, Miami Vice, etc, this is it! The book certainly hits all the highlights (and lowlights) of the 80's; covering movies, music, and tv in separate sections and starting it all off with an overview of people and events.
However the commentary of the author all but ruined it for me. As a fan of snark, I am all for poking some fun at a decade filled will targets. But few of the comments are fun. They are either not funny, barbed, or just plain out of line and wrong! For those who want to remember a decade teaming with quirks fondly, to have the author taking rude potshots at everything and everyone in a patronizing way just sucks the fun right out of it.
Also there were glaring errors to be found even in a casual read through. Add that to the authors very annoying tendency to make assumptions about things such as a bands motivation for writing a song or naming themselves something without any basis for his observations takes all credibility out of the information. This book must have taken a lot of time, too bad the research was done on the bias, and so is the final product.
Bottom line: this book is a great way back machine for all 80's-philes. But a more accurate title would be "One Person's Opinion of Everything 80's", because that is what it is. A more impartial and accurate touch is needed.
If you are looking for a book that will take you back to to the decade of Flashdance, Miami Vice, etc, this is it! The book certainly hits all the highlights (and lowlights) of the 80's; covering movies, music, and tv in separate sections and starting it all off with an overview of people and events.
However the commentary of the author all but ruined it for me. As a fan of snark, I am all for poking some fun at a decade filled will targets. But few of the comments are fun. They are either not funny, barbed, or just plain out of line and wrong! For those who want to remember a decade teaming with quirks fondly, to have the author taking rude potshots at everything and everyone in a patronizing way just sucks the fun right out of it.
Also there were glaring errors to be found even in a casual read through. Add that to the authors very annoying tendency to make assumptions about things such as a bands motivation for writing a song or naming themselves something without any basis for his observations takes all credibility out of the information. This book must have taken a lot of time, too bad the research was done on the bias, and so is the final product.
Bottom line: this book is a great way back machine for all 80's-philes. But a more accurate title would be "One Person's Opinion of Everything 80's", because that is what it is. A more impartial and accurate touch is needed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Calling All Children of the 80's
15 Jan 2004
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Do you love the 80's like I do? This will bring it all back to you in one book. The topics covered are current events, fashion, music, TV, and movies. Special attention is paid to the last three especially. I think fans of 80's music will love this the most. It covers everything from Lionele Richie, to Madonna, to Depehe Mode. As for movies, don't forget E.T., The Breakfast Club, and Back to the Future. In the realm of TV, The A Team comes on strong, the Dukes of Hazard wreck their car, and Arnold says "Whatchootalkinabout Willis?"
This will be a great gift for anyone who was a TV child in the 80's. If you're a child of the 80's, you should get it for yourself.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Cultural History
- Books > History > World History > Post-war Period, 1946-Present
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Performing Arts
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Social & Cultural
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Communication Studies > Media & Communication Industries > Television
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Cultural Studies > Popular Culture
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Sociology
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
