Bar Mitzvah Disco: The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party's Never Over (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Nick Kroll (Author), Jules Shell (Author) "The Bar and Bat Mitzvah experience thrust the individual young man or woman into the spotlight whether they were ready for the attention or not..." (more)
Key Phrases: bar mitzvah, New York, Bat Mitzvah, New Jersey (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Jewish rite of passage into adulthood is more than simply a ritual, according to Bennett, Shell and Kroll. The bar and bat mitzvahs of their youth evoke reminiscences that had been "left to languish in suburban rec rooms and the darker recesses of our memories—the unmistakable smell of the smoke machine... and the sound of Lionel Richie." This collection of essays and photos is the offshoot of their Web site of the same name, on which they solicited photos from the late 1960s through the 1980s displaying the peculiarities of their times. The book is structured as a professionally photographed bar mitzvah album, starting with awkward portraits and ending with the requisite "waving good-bye" shot. In between, the authors give short, humorous recollections of each aspect of the event, from the elaborately designed sign-in board to the chair-lift tradition. Well-known contributors, such as author Jonathan Safran Foer, comedian Sarah Silverman and Will & Grace creator David Kohan, add what seem to be hastily crafted but amusing short commentaries. While deeper observations would've made this more sustaining fare, the photographs alone make it a delicious bite of pop culture.
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Review

"A collection of more than 30 photographs culled from bar and bat mitzvahs from the 70s to the early 90s with essays by friends of the authors like Sarah Silverman and A.J. Jacobs, Bar Mitzvah Disco…is at first glance a nostalgia tour through an era of unprecedented bourgeois tackiness. But…it is also a cultural history, albeit one with a Duran Duran backbeat." —New York Times Styles

"For a delicious buffet of glitzy, pubescent ostentation, check out Bar Mitzvah Disco." —HEEB Magazine

"Bar Mitzvah Disco puts on a brand-new suit and congalines through that sometimes wild religious rite of passage. Manhood never looked so pubescent. Or fun." —GQ

"An entertaining collection of personal essays and anecdotes about the coming-of-age celebrations." —Esquire

"There is a very special place where the chosen people and The Village People braid together like a half-baked challah, and that place is Bar Mitzvah Disco. More than a nostalgic romp through an ill-defined time, BMD isolates and stares in blushing wonderment at the fashions, rituals, and music of an era that looked at feathered hair and rhinestone scrunchies and thought, Awesome." —Blackbook Magazine

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 2nd Printing edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400080444
• ISBN-13: 978-1400080441
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #450,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put on your Yarmulka and grab this book!, November 3, 2005

By	B. Robins "brobins" (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's hard to resist opening this book when considering the cover shot. All serious Bar Mitzvah-goers know that there are many stories, pictures and musings that are simply too important not to share. It's a smart and hilarious book of basically everything Bar Mitzvah. The writers have obviously scoured the earth for the BEST shots of the NOT-SO-BEST of 70's & 80's dress, hair, makeup & shiny new braces. It will definitely make you laugh.

It takes you back to a time of Michael Jackson, Reeboks, hair gel & hours spent in temple.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent and VERY funny, November 3, 2005

By	A. Antonius - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of the best books I have come across in a long time. The pictures will resonate with everyone who grew up in the 70s and 80s...Jewish or not. Hard to believe we were all so sophisticated and such snazzy dressers! And the book is extremely well put together with texts from people like Sarah Silverman. This book is going to be the gift I give to my friends this holiday season. It is smart, sharp, witty, and very funny and will bring back a lot of fun memories.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Had me in stitches, January 25, 2006

By	Little Miss Cutey (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

What a funny funny book this is. It's classic. Great concept and well written. It brings back so many memories - both painful and funny and many people can relate. The clothes, the music, the friends and the parties themselves. It's weird enough looking back at your own Bat Mitzvah photos let alone many other peoples Bar/Bat Mitzvah pics. Some of these earlier ones are hillarious but getting into the 80's (the era mine was in) is getting rediculously funny. This is the perfect gift for someone else or yourself. It will have you in stitches reading the stories and looking at the pictures. I love this book.