Customer Reviews

Fast Times at Ridgemont High : A True Story

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the fall of 1979 Cameron Crowe did something that many would describe as crazy. At 22 years of age he walked into the office of Principal William Gray's office and asked permission to attend classes for the full length of the school year to research a book he was to write of his experiences inside the walls of Ridgemont High in Redondo Beach, California. The sights, the sounds and even the smells of a High School of the late seventies are described within the covers of this most excellent document of being a teenaged wasteland of thirty years past.

The author walked the halls in a proper uniform of tennis shoes, jeans, t-shirt and backpack and blended in as best that he could while he transcribed everything and everyone around him. In this book you will discover: Brad Hamilton, the guy would takes pride in his fries, Damone, who has already mastered" "The Attitude" Mark Ratner, still hoping to nix the tie, Stacy Hamilton, listening to every pearl of wisdom about sex that Linda Barrett would describe in the lunch room while 15 year old boys observed from the un-cool tables and gazed at still-developing, female-type chests with big wide eyes of teenaged lust. And then, at last we arrive at Mister Hand's classroom where Jeff Spicoli is looking at a history textbook drawing cartoons with bloodshot eyes trying to figure out if this Thomas Jefferson dude was cool or extremely bogus.

What makes this book and the movie that followed it as the classic American story of teenagers coping with life as teenagers in a world they didn't create is that this ain't: "Leave it to Beaver" or: "The Brady Bunch." This is the truth about what you gotta put up with when you are pimply-faced loser to the rest of the world and the kid that cannot score tickets for the Zeppelin concert at The Forum next month. This is the day-by-day journal of horny and wasted semi-adults who don't have a clue of what their future holds before them. This book is an accurate account of what music makes sense and which car you gotta drive to take a girl (a real one, not an inflatable one!) up to the point to have any chance to score.

There are many more stories found inside this book than the ones that made it onto the script of the very popular and most excellent film that followed this most fantastic book. Ridgemont ROCKS!!! And this is an outstanding document of what went down there.
FIVE STARS !!!

I bet you didn't even know this was a book before it was a movie, did you? The first thing to know is that the book is much better than the movie. The definitive novel about early 80s Southern California high-school life, it is actually based on real events, as its subtitle "A True Story" tells you. Cameron Crowe apparently actually attended high-school for a year to do a "portrait" of contemporary high-school life. Fast Times is what emerged. While fairly faithful to the story, the movie diminishes the roles of Mark "the Rat" and Brad, and pumps up the role of Spicoli (who is a freshman in the book). It's a quick read, and well worth it if you want a light-hearted period book. It can be a little hard to find though.

A few things, yes this should be reissued. No, the edition I'm reading came from the library. I've no idea if there is any appreciable difference.
My only exposure to 'Fast Time...' had come primarily through the 1982 film. Loved it. Raucous with heart- a mix that is often attempted but more often failed, but the movie managed to do that. So I went looking for the book. Only to not find it on amazon or bn or Borders. OK. Check again. Nope. A few years later. Nothing. Now, about ten years after I first saw the movie, I decided to get the book out of the local library. And I'm glad I did.
If the book can be remembered for anything, it will be because the reader can read a part here or there and remember something like that. The uncertainty, the false bravado, the awkward search for conversation, a misread gesture. All the hallmarks of growing up and trying to relate to your peers. It's a book that only a few hundred actually experienced (Mr. Crowe and his classmates), but everyone that has ever attended an American high school will feel a high degree of familiarity with ("Well, no it didn't happen exactly like that...").
Mr. Crowe is smart enough to keep his cast small and focused on certain aspects of their lives. As a reader, I thank him for this as our desire to get a little more under the skin of the experience is always rewarded. My only misgiving is that, 28 years after the events described, the story isn't complete.
As stated, a re-issue would be invaluable. The ideal re-issue would include annotations to the real areas described (Ridgemont is really Clairemont, Lincoln HS is probably Madison HS, the Strand is in Ocean Beach, the Charthouse is in Seaport Village, Marine World is Sea World, I've no idea if the Regal Theater is really the MAnn Sports Arena, etc) and a follow-up feature on where the real life counterparts of Stacy, Brad, Jeff and such ended up. The lack of these does not detract from the story, but the passing of time has created this desire.

Hilarious story about high school from a student perspective. Better than the movie. For a funny book on public education from a teacher's point of view, though, try "No One's Even Bleeding".

The book is tremendous fun. It's alot like the movie except it doesn't have the soundtrack and pictures of Phoebe Cates. There's some stuff in the book that isn't in the movie. The book has a kind of fun tone all the way through, it doesn't get too serious about itself like the movie did in a couple of places.

I have no idea why this book has to be bought used. Publishers are idiots I guess. The people who've read this book really enjoyed it. And with good reason. It's very real and very entertaining. Anyway, for me, it was well worth seeking out and I get a big kick out of re-reading it.

I had been very familiar with the movie for years. I knew about the book for years as well, but it was nearly impossible to find. I'm hesitant to pay top dollar buying a used copy, but I strongly advise looking for it at a library.
The book is short, and a very light read. While it starts simply, the characters grow and unfold the longer you read it.
Character arcs aren't as straightforward as they're made in the movie.
But the really noteworthy thing is that the book has material that is both lighter and darker than the movie.
We hear about students doing more cruel things, as well as at least one outlandish prank.
The book is considerably more evenhanded in the treatment of characters. Damone comes across more sympathetic, and Linda is detailed in a way that explains a whole lot of her personal motivation.

I strongly suggest finding the book. It's a shame it isn't in print anymore.

Crowe's book captures the essence of public high school life in the early 80's; Crowe's point of view is unlike any other you will see, for he graduated from a Catholic High School (University High School, San Diego) two years early at age 16 in order to tour with Led Zeppelin and friends. He then came home, missing his life in San Diego, where he had lived almost his entire life, and decided to pick Ridgemont (Clairemont High School, San Diego--NOT REDONDO in Los Angeles) because that was the school he and his Catholic friends had always dreamed about attending. That is his story in a nutshell, and he still remains very supportive to our beautiful city, as his mother still lives in San Diego to this day.

If you want a good read, that will make you laugh, read THIS BOOK! If you have seen the movie the book is better, and FAST TIMES is my Fav movie.

...i have been a fan of this book since the day i found it in a used bookstore...i had seen the movie a few times, and found it pretty much a tome for our times...a teenagers diary, almost...having read the forward, and, many of crowe's articles in rolling stone magazine, i found it almost impossible to put down...i had been a radio deejay for a couple of years at this point, and, somewhat of an anomoly in that business(i hold a degree in english and biology, and a teacher's certificate)being a college graduate...having the background that i did made for intersting times on the air...i found myself talking to the kids as much as talking on the air...they will tell a disc jockey their deepest secrets late at night...i loved the overnight shift for the same reason i loved the book--the kids...crowe's true story is beleiveable having met many stacy hamilton's and spicoli's over the phone in my late night broadcast/confessional booth...that is why i love this book so much--it is the most real description of what a kid's life was like in the late 70's/early 80's...crowe captured the pure essence of adolescence straight from the subjects collective mouth's, and let's it spill forth onto the pages for one's voyueristic pleasure...if you want to know what your kid's lives are like, this book is a pretty revealing glance into their world from almost 30 years ago...get this book at whatever the cost and read it for the guilty pleasure it remains even to this day....

I was lucky enough to find the book in one book sale. It was funny though it also showed the reality teenagers were facing during that time. It was an eye-opener and at the same time an interesting, fun read.