Customer Reviews

The Clothes Have No Emperor: A Chronicle of the American '80s

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The cover has been crudely taped on backwards, the cover laminate is gone, the pages are dog eared, but my copy still holds together after countless re-readings.
Chronological, exhaustive coverage of the gaffes and shocking lies told to the american public that made reagan so memorable (or should have), combined with gems of pop culture, entertainment, crime, and so on. An illustrated, cynical diary of soundbites and factoids. If you were under the general impression that reagan wasn't that bad of a president, you will walk away from this a changed person: he WAS'NT the president! The ascerbic commentary may seem occasionally unfair, (more so if your a republican), but 9 times out of 10 it hits straight on, attacking both democrats and republicans with their own quotes and foolishness. But mostly reagan.

Paul Slanksy evidently hates everyone, and the 80's supplied him with more than enough material to nail them all. Obviously, Republicans take far more abuse because the book IS about the Reagan era. This book is funny and really cuts through the nostalgia many (GOP in particular) hold about the 80's. Great Read.

Pure hilarity... I don't know whether to life or cry when I read this. If one didn't know it was true, one would think it was an absurd satire... Don't for a minute think that the 90's have seen the birth of incredulity and double-talk when it comes to our political leaders... This book sheds light on the late great 80s, the decade that brought you Michael Jackson, spandex, Bankrupt S&Ls and a budget deficit we'll be paying off for the next decade or so. In a lot of ways, this book predicts the rise of Ross Perot. The fact that this book is out of print must surely be the doings of some right wing wackos.. Has anyone seen Murdoch?... It astounds me that you can't buy this book. It should be required reading at all GOP conventions... But anyone, back to work. Gotta go pay off the deficit.

I've lent this book to countless friends who all regarded former President Ronald Reagan as "a great man." Few of them adhere to that opinion today. It's astonishing to think that anyone so out of touch with reality could have been elected to two terms as President. Slansky's brilliant book combines seemingly unrelated pieces of information into a cohesive whole that reveals, once and for all, the astonishing incompetence of the Reagan administration. As a bonus, Slansky also manages to skewer virtually all aspects of popular culture of the 1980's. Since those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, this book should be required reading for all, lest we get another presidency like Reagan's. My copy has been read so many times that it is literally falling apart. One of the great books of the last fifty years.

Maybe it was just me, but when I purchased this book on line I assumed it was going to be a book, you know the type with chapters and well thought out paragraphs. What I got was a book that is made up of day by day humorous quotes from the news sources of the time. So I was a little disappointed at the start just because my expectation was not met. With that out of the way I dug in and found the book provided a number of laughs and brought back a number of memories. The author picked up on mostly political issues to populate the book, but he does toss in a few pop culture items that usually show the ridiculous side of American life. The humor the author uses is rather dry and sarcastic, which fit very well with the news reporting style blurbs.

Overall the book is an easy to read, fun review of the 1980's that brought back a lot of memories for me. The author does tend to focus on a small group of topics, Geraldo Rivera, his dislike of popular music and Michael Jackson all seem to get repeated mentions. The book is the type you can have around and pick up every now and then and read a few pages. It is light fair and shows a 10,000 feet view of the 80's.

As someone who was 8 when the 80's, began, I found this to be a funny, accurate, and sometimes disturbing chronicle of my formative years. (Even though I live in Canada!) Notwithstanding this, I still found the book a great read, and one that I have read through 5 or 6 times. I had forgotten how much craziness in politics, world events, entertainment, and sports took place during that decade. As I said, it provided me with a perfect account of the years that I consider my formative ones-from 8 to 18. However, regardless of age, this book is a must read for anyone who looks back fondly (or not so fondly) on those crazy 80s.

First of all, contrary to the review below, you CAN purchase this book, even though it's out of print. Just order it through Amazon, and they'll track a copy down and send it. They did it for me. This book is an excellent review of the U.S. in the 80s. It chronicles, in a relatively non-partisan way, all of the wacky stuff that took place during the Reagan administration. Some of it is funny, and some of it is disturbing. It's hilarious but at the same time very informative. When I have kids I will make sure that each one has their own copy.

I fervently hope that Paul Slansky is working on a follow up, for the 90s, to chronicle the Bush-Clinton years.

If I owned a time machine, I'd go back to the late seventies when Reagan was starting his campaign and drop copies of this book all over the country.

Perhaps it could have helped.

The idea that someone so incompetant and clueless could become PRESIDENT is a sobering thought.

What else can I add about this book that my fellow reviewers haven't already said? It's brilliant. It's hilarious. I've read my copy over and over.
I just wish he'd do another one about the 90's. He can be as liberal as he likes, pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republicans as they tried to take Clinton down, just write the book.
Which brings up another thing: I'm wondering why there aren't any negative reviews yet from right-wingers who don't like the days of Reagan (that saint, that genius, that messiah) being mocked.

Thoroughly enjoyable synopses of notable events in the 1980s. Definitely slanted in the direction of humorous cynicism, Slansky takes on the Reagans, George Bush, Sr., Dan Quayle (remember him?), you name it. Pretty sad when you consider this is modern American history, ripped right from the headlines.