James Dean Died Here: The Locations of America's Pop Culture Landmarks [Paperback]

Chris Epting (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Packed with historical information, this travel guide explores the sites where pop culture history was made. With hundreds of photographs, this encyclopedic resource covers approximately 600 sites of the most famous and infamous pop culture events. The greatest landmarks from Americana, movies, music, tragedy, crime, television, and sports are included, such as where George Washington crossed the Delaware River; the diner in the film Diner; the site of the Planet of the Apes finale; the Hindenburg crash site; the Brady Bunch house; and the location of the 1980 Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey team victory. This offbeat travelogue provides the armchair traveler or road warrior tourist with all the information needed to visit America's pop culture sites of significance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most people know where Lincoln was shot and where Jaws was filmed. But what about the site where Hugh Grant picked up hooker Divine Brown (it was the northeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Courtney Avenue in Hollywood) or the venue where The Clash's 1980 album London Calling was photographed (it was The Palladium, on 14th Street in Manhattan)? The U.S. embraces its own pop culture like no other country does, says advertising veteran Epting, and he shows exactly where to find American cultural hotspots in this absorbing guide. Epting divides the book thematically, with chapters such as "Crime, Murder, and Assassination" and "Celebrity Deaths and Infamous Celebrity Events," and gives exact addresses, brief descriptions and sometimes even phone numbers. Although he does include a fair amount of generally well-known information (e.g., that the Gettysburg Address was given in Gettysburg, Penn., and that Elvis lived at Graceland), Epting's quirky factoids are most appealing. Some examples: Apple Computer was born in a garage in Los Altos, Calif.; the bank Butch Cassidy robbed on August 13, 1896 is in Montpelier, Idaho; and Daryl Hall and John Oates, of the R&B-influenced pop duo Hall & Oates, first met in a Philadelphia freight elevator, where they were hiding from a gang fight that broke out at a doo-wop show. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"James Dean Died Here is an addictively irresistible tour through pop culture past and present." -- Chicago Tribune

"Chris Epting's omnibus picks up where standard guidebooks leave off . . . you'll never again lose $40 [on] a stupid 'star tour.'" -- Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel

"The whereabouts of 600-plus places that have helped shape national identity, from the momentous . . . to the ridiculous." -- USA Today

"Want to know where Zsa Zsa Gabor was arrested? . . . Where Elvis recorded 'Heartbreak Hotel'? It's all in here, Baby!" -- BookSense 76 Pick for July/Aug 2003

"[A] guide to sites morbid, trashy and profound. Epting has assembled a treasure trove of pop landmarks!" -- Albuquerque Journal

"[A] guidebook to a broad range of historic and often hysterical American landmarks-more than 700 in all." -- National Public Radio's All Things Considered

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891661310
• ISBN-13: 978-1891661310
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #512,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Epting is the author of 17 travel/history books, including James Dean Died Here (Santa Monica Press), Roadside Baseball (McGraw Hill) and most recently The Ruby Slippers, Madonna's Bra and Einstein's Brain -- The Locations of America's Pop Culture Artifacts (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. He is the national spokesman for Hampton Inn hotel's Hidden Landmarks program and hosts the weekly syndicated radio show, The Pop Culture Road Trip. In addition, Chris 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

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun browsing, November 20, 2003

By 

W. Oliver (Alabama) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: James Dean Died Here: The Locations of America's Pop Culture Landmarks (Paperback)

This book is a lot of fun and one that you might want to take with you if you ever visit Sunset Blvd. (many events happened there!). It lists the locations of cultural landmarks and many entries have a photograph, but not all. Chapters are divided by "History and Tragedy," "Crime, Murder & Assassination," "Celebrity Deaths," "Movies," "Music," "Sports," etc. Landmarks such as the subway grating where Marilyn Monroe posed, Manson Family murder sites, the spot where Zsa Zsa slapped the policeman and Hugh Grant picked up a prostitute are all here. Some entries leave you yearning for more information - for example, it would be interesting to know what became of some of the famous celebrity houses and who lives there now. This information is sometimes noted but often it is not. Photos for ALL of the sites would have been nice too but many do not have photos. Lots of fun though and hopefully this will be a book that will be updated.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop-Culture Almanac, June 13, 2003

By 

Marcus A Vadas (Newport Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: James Dean Died Here: The Locations of America's Pop Culture Landmarks (Paperback)

A must for anyone who is even slightly interested in American pop culture. This book is loaded with facts about all kinds of events all over the country.

One of the cool things for me (when I first read this book) was realizing how many spots I've drivin past over the last few years without realizing that some historical event took place there. For instance: there is a Hollywood Video in LA that I've actually rented from that used to be the bank that Patty Hearst and her posse ripped off.

It is a very easy-to-read-guide to all those cool events we've witnessed on TV over the last few years. And, no matter where you live in the country, you are bound to find an event that took place near you.
GET IT!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A blast, but with one major flaw, January 30, 2005

By 

Bloodshot Eyes (Santa Clara, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: James Dean Died Here: The Locations of America's Pop Culture Landmarks (Paperback)

This book is great from start to finish -- provides locations and history for all kinds of disparate pop culture stuff. The one major problem with the book is that the writer desperately needs a copy editor. He mixes up some details and spells names, places and titles wrong all over the place. There are points where he spells the same person's name two or three different ways on one page. Considering all the research he seems to have done, this is kind of bonehead stuff. Still, if you can look past that, this book is a lot of fun.