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Title: Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Stars, and Trends of That Decadent Decade by Matthew Rettenmund ISBN: 0-312-14436-9 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A totally tubular book, fer sure!
Comment: As a child of the 80's, I was stoked to find this book about the trends, music, movies, and language of the times. Flashback-o-rama! Having spent my entire teen years in this decade, I probably said, wore, watched, and listened to every reference made here. I fondly remember banana clips (I wish I could still wear them without looking dated!) and I think I still have my half-million pairs of leg warmers and ripped up sweatshirts stashed in a box somewhere! The book is formatted in lists, such as "Ten Labels An 80's Closet Wouldn't Be Caught Dead Without," "Eighty Quintessentially 80's Songs," and "Creature Feature: Twenty Groovy Horror Movies of the 80's." Since as someone already said below, lists are made at the whim of the author, I'm sure not everyone will agree with the ranking of the topics. I have to say though, that Matthew Rettenmund knows his material well, and his Ultimate Picks for songs and movies are pretty much right on. I love to reminisce about my high school years...Poltergeist and Nightmare On Elm Street still freak me out, I love Prince and New Wave synth pop, and I still have a mad crush on Ilan Mitchell-Smith (the dark haired kid) from Weird Science. Who but at true 80's survivor would admit to that?
Rating: 3
Summary: Great subject matter, irritating narative
Comment: 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.
Rating: 5
Summary: Totally awesome!
Comment: This book is hysterically funny and has EVERYTHING you'd want re the '80s! I can't recommend it highly enough.
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Title: Pretty in Pink: The Golden Age of Teenage Movies by Jonathan Bernstein, Jon Bernstein ISBN: 0312151942 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Totally Awesome 80s TV Trivia Book by Michael-Dante Craig ISBN: 0595183859 Publisher: Writers Club Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Totally Awesome 80s Pop Music Trivia Book by Michael-Dante Craig ISBN: 0595170102 Publisher: Writers Club Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Complete, Cross-Referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious by Glenn Gaslin, Rick Porter ISBN: 1572973358 Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: 01 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Say Anything: The Movie Quote Game That Takes You Back to the '80s One Line at a Time by Peter T. Fornatale, Frank R. Scatoni ISBN: 0452281474 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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