Mad About the Sixties: The Best of the Decade [Paperback]

MAD Magazine (Author), "The Usual Gang of Idiots" (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995 | Series: Mad about the Sixties (Book 1)

An illustrated compilation of the craziest humor published in the 1960s in the nation's craziest--and most popular--humor magazine includes movie parodies, political satire, memorable MAD covers, classic features, and much more. QPB.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When American kids of a certain vintage--Bill Clinton, for example, but not Bob Dole--put down their childish things, they picked up MAD magazine. It didn't leave their hands until adulthood hit, and maybe after. The magazine ain't what it used to be, so it's easy to forget how keen it once was. MAD About the Sixties is a long-overdue collection of material from that seminal humor magazine's salad days. It's a welcome reminder that when MAD was good, it was very, very good: it featured solid writing coupled with great art, month after month. The movie and television parodies ("Bats-Man," "Star Blech") are sure to be a hit, whether you saw the originals the first time around or as reruns. While it helps to have lived through the era--particularly for the ad parodies--there's enough generic daffiness in MAD About the Sixties to satisfy the reader who never saw Wings, much less Paul McCartney's other band.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–MAD magazine works in much the same way as a Bugs Bunny cartoon–the humor operates on several levels. Unfortunately, today's teens won't be able to get some of the jokes. For example, Ringo Starr's BLECCH shampoo ad makes more sense if you actually remember the Breck Girl ads. The book also features people who may be unfamiliar to YAs, including Adlai Stevenson and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Still, the volume is bound to find an appreciative audience, and MAD fans will be delighted to see the first-ever Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, as well as the first MAD fold-in (featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton). Readers will also enjoy early versions of the magazine's staples like Spy vs. Spy and The Lighter Side. This volume features parodies of popular television programs like (Holy Kinsey Report!) Batman, Mod Squad, The Fugitive, and Star Trek. Teens won't know that Uptight Is a Dry Sugar Cube is a spoof on Happiness Is a Warm Puppy, but they won't need to in order to laugh about their parents' and grandparents' generations.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown; 1 edition (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316334189
• ISBN-13: 978-0316334181
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous Summary Of The Decade, July 16, 2000

By 

"skapunkbluesjazzrock" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mad About the Sixties: The Best of the Decade (Paperback)

This book, which is a collection of things compiled from Mad Magazine, is funny summary of the decade. Mad About The 60's covers many of the most popular movies and tv shows from the 60's with their usual style of parody. This book also features many of the funniest cartoons that would appear monthly in the magazine such as Dave Berg, Don Martin, ect. Many of the featured elements of this book have a lot to do with the attitude, politics, and lifestyle of the 60's. For a Mad Magazine fan this book is a nice buy.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is an OK book., October 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mad About the Sixties: The Best of the Decade (Paperback)

What can one say about mad magazine? I've been reading for a long time. Even though I wasn't alive in the sixties, this book portrays them fairly well. Aside from Mad About The Seventies, this currently tops the Mad Magazine Humor list. With parodies of Gilbert and Sullivan, My Fair Lady,and Lawerence of arabia, this is a must read. My favriote section was in the late sixties. Overall, Superb.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE MOST INTELECTUAL MAG OF THE 60'S, January 7, 2010

By 

S. P. Escobar (oakland, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mad About the Sixties: The Best of the Decade (Paperback)

This is a great compilation of gems from the issues made in the 1960's, the only thing I didn't like about this book was that it's a smaller size than a copy I saw a few years ago that was the same size as the magazine..