Celebrating a wide variety of pop culture touchstones from the past 40 years, this guide celebrates the music, movies, television, hobbies, and fads that defined recent generations. From the 1970s to the present day, this trip down memory lane describes the author’s humorous, ironic, poignant, and inspiring moments with numerous pop culture icons—including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jay Leno, Johnny Thunders, Edward Albee, John Cheever, and Milton Berle—as well as personal memories of the era's most famous pop-culture fads, products, and gimmicks, such as Pet Rocks, lava lamps, mood rings, eight-track tapes, Zotz, halter tops, and strawberry wine. Many famous locations of the past few decades also play a prominent role in this history, from the rock club CBGB and the classic arena Madison Square Garden to zany pop-culture landmarks such as the Brady Bunch house and Los Angeles’ historic Ambassador Hotel, and, as a postscript to the original essay, many are revisited for an update to the original dispatch. From reminiscing with famous rock stars to sipping tea with the widow of a famous author, this nostalgic history is a delightful celebration of the zeitgeist of 20th-century popular culture.
Hello, It's Me: Dispatches from a Pop Culture Junkie
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Chris Epting is the author of numerous books, including James Dean Died Here; Led Zeppelin Crashed Here; Marilyn Monroe Dyed Here; Roadside Baseball; and The Ruby Slippers, Madonna's Bra, and Einstein's Brain. He has contributed articles to such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Westways, Travel + Leisure and Preservation magazine. Epting is also the national spokesperson and consultant for Hampton Inn's Save-a-Landmark program, which recently won the Preserve America Presidential Award. He lives in Huntington Beach, California, with his wife and their two children.
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More About the Author
Chris Epting is the author of 20 travel/history books, including James Dean Died Here (Santa Monica Press), Roadside Baseball (McGraw Hill) and most recently Hello It's Me, Dispatches From a Pop Culture Junkie (Santa Monica Press). He has contributed articles for such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Westways and Travel + Lesiure magazine, and writes a weekly newspaper column for the Huntington Beach Independent. In addition, Chris writes for AOL Music and is a frequent talk show guest, appearing on shows including National Public Radio, the E! Channel and Access Hollywood.Originally from New York, Chris now lives in Huntington Beach, California with his wife and their two children.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The accessibility and relatablitiy of "Hello, It's Me" is amazing. After reading just the first few of author Chris Epting's anecdotal essays, you will become instantly drawn into his world, and forced to read on and rummage through his memories, comparing them to your own.
One part time capsule, and one part scrapbook, "Hello, It's Me" follows one man's journey that spans over three decades full of music, movies, sports and other pop culture adventures. Epting acts as a tour guide of his own personal history (as it relates to pop culture), and takes us on a warm, friendly, and funny ride that will leave you nostalgic for the good old days, and yearn for the days to come.
There are no need for bookmarks here. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down. Highly recommended.
One part time capsule, and one part scrapbook, "Hello, It's Me" follows one man's journey that spans over three decades full of music, movies, sports and other pop culture adventures. Epting acts as a tour guide of his own personal history (as it relates to pop culture), and takes us on a warm, friendly, and funny ride that will leave you nostalgic for the good old days, and yearn for the days to come.
There are no need for bookmarks here. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down. Highly recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Kim Stephens
Format:Paperback
I started reading the book this morning. I gotta tell ya, just reading the "splash screen" preceding the chapter on the 70's (keywords Mystery Date, Pop Rocks, 8-tracks, Prell, etc) - every word brought with it a strong, fond memory of those years. Really powerful stuff - and I haven't even gotten to the 1980's yet!
Chris, thank you for taking the time to document these amazing cultural icons, that bring us all together, and for providing such a fun way to help us to re-live some of the happiest moments of our own lives!
Chris, thank you for taking the time to document these amazing cultural icons, that bring us all together, and for providing such a fun way to help us to re-live some of the happiest moments of our own lives!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I just started reading this book today and it's a winner. Chris has the ability to convey his stories on paper like our parents did with their friends years ago when we were young (you know, when they talked for hours about their lives in the living room or kitchen table after dinner).
Chris has the same sense of telling stories of our pop culture as our parents did back then, but his stories have direct ties to our own pop culture history, with lots of famous people we all can appreciate and love just as much as he does.
Add to that some time travel items like 45's and what we wore back then (ugh!) and you can just immerse yourself into his stories, relishing the nostalgia which won't be cobwebbed in the mind anymore but instead thankfully preserved in this book forever and ever. Open it up and you can reflect again and again on the past--to your heart's content!
Chris has the same sense of telling stories of our pop culture as our parents did back then, but his stories have direct ties to our own pop culture history, with lots of famous people we all can appreciate and love just as much as he does.
Add to that some time travel items like 45's and what we wore back then (ugh!) and you can just immerse yourself into his stories, relishing the nostalgia which won't be cobwebbed in the mind anymore but instead thankfully preserved in this book forever and ever. Open it up and you can reflect again and again on the past--to your heart's content!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Living History of Living History
I first read this book a while back and all its stories have stuck in my head ever since. This is an amazing book that's not only about history and pop culture but the history of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by The Californian
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Adventures taking you through four decades of...
The author does not disappoint from the turn of the first page through the last. it is a book full of nostalgic testimony and the author's crafting takes you from one story to the... Read more
Published on October 14, 2010 by Gregory Grosso
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hello It's Me-dispatches from a pop culture junkie
I found this book a vehicle to loosen up all those forgotten morsels of things long forgotten (or at least partially forgotten). Read more
Published on October 10, 2010 by Bobby McNeely
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hello, I'm Recommending This Book!
When I was finally able to put "Hello, It's Me: Dispatches from a Pop Culture Junkie" down, I looked around me to find the trash can spilling over, the cats un-fed, and my stomach... Read more
Published on September 12, 2010 by Phillies83
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Pop Culture Journey Worth Taking
"Hello, It's Me," is Epting's latest gem, wherein he takes us on a nostalgic journey through his fascinating life of meeting, interviewing and hanging with some of the culture's... Read more
Published on September 7, 2010 by Julie A. Esposito
5.0 out of 5 stars
Says it Right
Sadly, I finished reading "Hello It's me". I wanted this book to never end. Like when you saw Gone with the Wind or The Wizard of Oz or any story you love... Read more
Published on August 19, 2010 by Carolyn M
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Pop Culture Guru Gets Personal
Chris Epting is a good writer, but he's a great storyteller, and it's the second quality that provides just the right tone to his most recent work, "Hello, It's Me: Dispatches from... Read more
Published on August 9, 2010 by Craig Hodgkins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific book!
This is a fun, interesting, nostalgic book by an amazing writer. A blast from the past for some, a look into what some of us weren't yet around for. Read more
Published on August 8, 2010 by Jessica Colas
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating glimpse into a life well spent.....
While I've never considered myself a pop culture junkie, I thoroughly enjoyed `Hello It's Me' , not only because of all the stars and people of interest who've crossed paths with... Read more
Published on August 6, 2010 by Lenny Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nostalgia, Warmth, and Humanity
Like many of the other reviewers, I've enjoyed my journey through the popular culture of the 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond with Chris Epting. Read more
Published on August 5, 2010 by Terry Masek
