The Complete, Cross-Referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious [Paperback]

Glenn Gaslin (Author), Rick Porter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998

From Atari to oat bran, glasnost to Boy George, this comprehensive, alphabetized, and witty guide takes readers through the "big '80s"-a concise, cross-referenced catalogue of historical events, artistic achievements, technological developments, cultural triumphs and of course, Smurfberry Crunch. Now, as '70s nostalgia peaks, the next (and possibly even sillier) decade takes the spotlight as a new generation embraces its embarrassing past. Includes cultural high points such as: * "Baby on Board" * "Dallas" * Eurythmics * Flashdance * Inspector Gadget * "Just Say No" * "Kate & Allie" * Live Aid * McDLT * Pac-Man * Rainforests * Teddy Ruxpin * Underoos * Valley Girls * Xanadu * and much, too much more!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two books guide the user through the cultural trivia of the last two decades with surprisingly little duplication. Both have plenty of See references to lead readers from "Erasure" to "Synth-Pop" to "Aerobics" to "Leg Warmers." Contributors to the long-running Ben Is Dead, a Los Angeles-based alternative culture magazine, have compiled their favorite memories of the Seventies and early Eighties. The signed entries include more general trends ("Orange: Important color when we grew up") as well as the expected "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," and often two or more people contribute annotations for the same entry. This format works well because the writing has a distinctly personal touch; the essay on PBS's Electric Company has as much to do with the impression the show had on one viewer as with the facts of the show's production. Journalists Gaslin and Porter offer a more factual?and more boring?take on the people, TV shows, and hit songs of the 1980s. Their short entries occasionally take a stab at humor or remind us of some forgotten connection but mostly list a singer's top hits or an actor's most memorable parts. As reference sources, both these books are comprehensive and well organized enough to answer the basic questions about one-hit wonders and sitcom stars and would do well in medium and large public libraries. Retro Hell also has some value as a cultural history and should be in public and academic circulating collections.?Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; Boulevard trade pbk. ed edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572973358
• ISBN-13: 978-1572973350
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,592,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must own for Generation X'ers, November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete, Cross-Referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious (Paperback)

The book is essestial for anyone who came of age in the 1980's. Though many consider it a forgettable decade, for those of us who grew up during those years, it's great to have a refresher course on things that we considered to be so important at the time. And where else are you going to find an entry on the brilliant, yet short lived series, "Manimal?"

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Bible for any true child of the Eighties., November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete, Cross-Referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious (Paperback)

If you ignore the book's ugly-as-sin cover artwork and delve into this maniacal volume of absolutely useless yet totally vital pop cultural information, you will be proud to say: "I am a member of the Chachi Generation." Buy it and love it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jam packed with mirthful whimsy!, May 1, 2000

By 

Nipsy Russell (Tinsel Town) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete, Cross-Referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious (Paperback)

This book was as much fun as a barrel of smurfs...required reading for those of us with a Dukes of Hazard lunch box and a Battlestar Galactica sleeping bag in the closet...awaken the Chachi within!