Dysfunctional [Paperback]

Garry Davis (Author), Craig Steycyk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1999

From old school to hard core, Dysfunctional is the first international overview of contemporary skateboard culture. Unlike conventional skate media it is not about tricks and competitions, but rather focuses on ideas and attitudes - the experiences and details that make skating the vibrant and lasting youth subculture that it is.

From cover to cover, Dysfunctional is highly visual, a brilliant collection of graphic clues that recreate the patina of skate style. Skaters and 'skate betties' are portrayed hanging out, chilling out and hassled by security. There are the inevitable injuries, scruffy clothing, popular outlets, t-shirt graphics, cutting edge advertising, photography, painting, magazines, video sequences, and the toughest locations from Los Angeles to London.

With essays by antiheroes Garry Davis and Craig Steycyk.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Gingko Press (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584230029
• ISBN-13: 978-1584230021
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,767,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Breif History ..., December 13, 1999

By 

Tom Browne (London Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dysfunctional (Paperback)

Visually this book is beutiful - well designed and layed out, great photographs and excellent printing - I prefere the lack of glare from an uncoated paper. I like the text all in the front and the pics seperate. After reading The Conrete Wave I realized that Dysfunctional is very breif in the telling of the history of skateboarding. Although, it does have some interesting things Michael Brooke didn't document. There's a great collection of skate deck graphics throughout the book that doesn't go back far enough in time - it looks like it starts in the mid-to-late 80s. Also a great collection of old magaine covers and advertisements is included. What I dislike about both books is that you need to reference a glossary in th back to find out what a photographs all about. Well worth the price and a good addition to a skaters library - oldschool or new alike.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dysfunctional, November 25, 2000

By 

kelea (singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dysfunctional (Paperback)

Dysfunctional is a very beautiful book with very lovely photographs and pictures. As stupid as this sounds, I think it has excellent binding. It has little text, but I think the pictures explain much more than words. It didn't feature a lot of skateboarding tricks and stunts, but more of advertisements and ads and stickers etc., which you don't see anymore. Dysfunctional showed the spirit of skateboarding more than the history of skateboarding, but I have no complaints about that. It's a little expensive, but it's definitely worth it, I enjoyed it a lot; it's a book that you can look at over and over again and not get sick of. :)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book rules!, September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dysfunctional (Paperback)

This book is great, it documents skateboading in a fresh way, mixing action photos with classic skate advertising and graphics. What I want to know is when somebody is going to put out a book on the gonz's life. (see broken poems)