Customer Reviews

Golden State, Golden Youth: The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966

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

 

 

I heard an interview with the Author on NPR.  Being a former mouseketeer and a closet fan of the Frankie and Annette beach films, I thought the book would be right-up my alley.  May puts together a remarkably entertaining and enlightening piece of work.  By analyzing this period in American history through the skewed lens of popular culture, May shows how many of those living in the 50's and 60's believed (including some of California's elected officials) that California had some kind of magical immunity to the societal and racial problems that affected the rest of the country at the time.  She also illustrates how deeply the nation was shocked when reality caught-up with the illusion.  While depicting the Popular Culture images packaged and shipped from sunny California, May doesn't take an overly moralistic tone.  Also, the writing is refreshingly free of bloated academic gibberish.  It is clear May sifted through volumes of research and has produced a tight and compelling book.  I give Golden State, Golden Youth my strongest recommendation, especially to those ever to have listened to a Beach Boys record, watched Frankie and Annette, or donned a pair of mouse ears.

Interesting and extremely readable, this book made me realize how much I had bought into the California myth as I was growing up in the 60's, as well as allowing me some enjoyable trips down memory lane. The author's writing style allowed me to see the cause and effects of California pop culture of the 50's and 60's from a much wider frame of reference; educating me without drowning me in pompous academic babbling.

I heartily recommend this book!

Suggested by a local friend on a Friday evening, borrowed his copy and had completed reading it by Monday morning. Then passed it on to another friend that afternoon. As pervasive as California Culture has become - even for those of us far-removed from the Coast and the culture that grew out of it - I found the subject fascinating, and the book hard to put down. It appears as though in _Golden State_ Ms. May establishes herself with the public as a strong cross-over writer who, while grounded by a core academic foundation, begins with the facts then takes the reader on a facinating trip through time and society, merrily expounding on the sights along the way. Highly reccommended.

What a fun book to read. I would highly recommend anyone this text. It really keeps you thinking, but she is such a good writer, she engages your brain but never overwhelms. Fennis Dembo!

I brought this home on Friday, and had it polished off by Sunday afternoon. My wife got tired of me reading passages out loud to her, so she made me shut up until she had a chance to read it.

A friend referred this book to me and although I'm not normally into this kind of book I found it very interesting. May's thoughts on Disney and the surf generation were very eye opening and it made me look at today's pop culture in a whole new way. Good reading, great ideas.

Granat has completed a masterful study of Calfornia beach culture, and its affect on our country. Granat's anecdotes about California culture are both entertaining and instructive. From Gidget to H. Rap Brown, this book has it all. This book is definetely a must read for anyone who is interested in pop culture in the U.S. of A.

For those who have never lived in, been to, or heard of California, or indeed have never reflected momentarily on the relation between media images and public opinion, this book might offer something like fresh insights; for everyone else, this warmed-over dissertation is little more than a neat summary of cliches, inaccuracies, and other's ideas. The scholarship is alternately myopic, specious, and unoriginal (though occasionally it is all three at once!) and the writing itself either cringe-worthy or just plain bland (it reads much like the plagiarized book report of an accomplished high school student). There are a few sites out there already which document the absurdities of this book better than I could here, so I won't waste my/your time. I'm not sure what I can say in defense of the book or those who have endorsed it above (one of whom I suspect of being a relative); but to the latter I can offer a suggestion: check out either Mike Davis or Kevin Starr to see how derivative this book is (also see Steven Gaines and Timothy White's respective books on the Beach Boys). And to the prospective buyer: don't bother with this hackneyed term paper, buy _City of Quartz_ and listen to "Pet Sounds" instead!