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The Book Of Tiki (Midsize) (Paperback)

by Sven Kirsten (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
Irreverent, fabulously fun, and packaged, as always with TASCHEN, beautifully. -- LA Weekly, 12/22/00

Sven Kirsten’s loving look at the post-war craze for all things Polynesian is filled with photos ... -- Travel Etc. Magazine, December 2000

The amazing world of Tiki has never been more lovingly and thoroughly documented. -- Paper Magazine, December 2000 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
America seized the exotic version of island culture in the 1950s which exerted a massive influence on fashion, pop music, eating and drinking. This guide cast the reader as an urban archeologist exploring the lost remnants of Tiki culture.

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Product Details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Taschen; illustrated edition edition (July 31, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 382282433X
ISBN-13: 978-3822824337
Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #338,118 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Citations (learn more)

10 books cite this book:

Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture by Alan Hess in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Beachbum Berry's Intoxica! by Jeff Berry on page 35, and Back Matter
How to Be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson on page 120, and Back Matter
Night of the Tiki: The Art of Shag, Schmaltz, and Selected Primitive Oceanic Carvings by Doug Harvey on page 94, and Back Matter
Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of the Wildwoods by Kirk Hastings in Back Matter

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	43% buy the item featured on this page: The Book Of Tiki (Midsize) 4.8 out of 5 stars (34)
	26% buy Tiki Modern 4.8 out of 5 stars (17) $26.39
	14% buy Tiki Style (Icons) 3.3 out of 5 stars (3) $9.99
	10% buy Tiki Mugs: Cult Artifacts of Polynesian Pop 4.6 out of 5 stars (5) $23.07

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Customer Reviews

34 Reviews

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it's tiki-tastic!, January 3, 2001

By	"whizgirl" (mt holly, nj) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Tiki (Hardcover)

What a fabulous book! The definitive book on tiki culture! I can't imagine that anyelse could ever surpass the excellent work done by Sven Kirsten. This book is truly a joy. I'll often rush through a new book but I took my time with this beauty. Entertaining, absorbing and stylish, it's just as much fun to merely look at as it is to read it. Each page is an adventure. I was impressed by the scope of the book - it deals with not just restaurants but with motels, apartment buildings, home entertaining, etc. Sven Kirsten also profiles the major innovators and originators of tiki culture. The best part is that the book is presented (tongue in cheek) as a guide to the urban archaeologist, interested in uncovering the remmnants and traces of the now-extinct tiki culture.

A must-have book!

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A much needed effort, October 12, 2000

By	"bookhaus" (Geneva, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Tiki (Hardcover)

Tiki worshipers -- we are not alone! Our friends at LuxuriaMusic.com live and breath Tiki, and the Millionaire has kindly written a thoughtful review on "The Book of Tiki." A notable excerpt from this is:

"Possibly the most difficult aspect of reviewing this comprehensive study of Polynesian pop is that it stands alone, unassailable. It's difficult to apply any critical distance to a work like this, and it's not that nothing else approaches its thoroughness or insight: the fact is that there is simply nothing else of the sort available. Whatsoever. Anywhere. Kirsten has literally "written the book" on a phase of pop culture that once encompassed architecture,interior design, clothing, music, food, entertainment and much more, yet passed from a ubiquitous vogue to decay and disregard without ever having enjoyed critical respect or even any substantial recognition.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and educational, November 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Tiki (Hardcover)

It does not happen often that a new facet of American pop culture that has not been recognized before gets discovered. With his Book of Tiki Sven Kirsten succeeds in establishing a style that has been overlooked by art critics and historians alike. Through an amazing amount of visuals Kirsten proves how Tiki in it's heyday influenced every walk of American life, from architecture, design and graphics to food and drink.

In addition to the rich imagery (which affords the viewer an almost physical experience of the phenomenon) Kirsten's writing traces back the origins of the style to the Western fascination with Polynesia and, without becoming too analytical and dry, enlightens the reader on the motives for this escapism.
The chronicler's ironic enthusiasm for his subject saves him from becoming judgmental and falling for easy, politically correct conclusions.
We are guided through the history of Polynesia as an eternal metaphor for an earthly Eden up to the point where Americans fell in love with this vision.
Here Kirsten conveys how the post-war need for more moral freedom coincided with the tales of Pacific war theater veterans and the 50s idealization of Hawaii as a dream vacation destination.
In taking the guise of an urban archeologist who (as is done in classic archeology) discovers a lost culture through it's objects and artifacts, Kirsten accomplishes to throw light on a fascinating chapter of American pop that has so far lingered in obscurity.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars TheParrotTalksinChocolate.com SAYS YES!
this book is one of the best ever on TIKI. In fact it inspired the author of the new book, The Parrot Talks in Chocolate - the Life and Times of a Hawaiian Tiki Bar... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Della Peacock

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Classic On The Subject! 'Nuff Said.
Well... not QUITE 'nuff!

On assignment from Tiki Magazine, I had the pleasure, last year, of interviewing Sven at his spectacular mountaintop retreat in Silverlake... Read more

Published 3 months ago by PDC

5.0 out of 5 stars A key piece of tne new Tiki Culture
This book is important. It's one of the things that can be noted as part of the neo-tiki culture revival. It got the word out there. Read more

Published 5 months ago by B. Parker

5.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to the title
This book is such a great collection of tiki decor and knick-knacks that you don't even need to read the captions to enjoy it. Read more

Published on March 26, 2005 by M. Capps Jr.

5.0 out of 5 stars Jimbo
If you have the slightest interest in the subject, you have to have this book. it is an amazing piece of work, and a visual feast. Read more

Published on March 5, 2005 by J. Hanson

5.0 out of 5 stars Sven Kirsten defines an era!
Truly a wonder of nature this Book of Tiki. Chances are, you might so your parents or grandparents in the pictures, from the days before you considered them old. Read more

Published on March 2, 2005 by Alouicious Abernathy

5.0 out of 5 stars More Tiki Than You Can Shake A Torch At
Like all Taschen books, this book is visually STUNNING! Just leafing through the pictures never gets boring. Read more

Published on December 23, 2003 by FKC

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on Tiki, though a bit artsy
This book is a must have for anyone interested in Tiki or kitsch art. Describing themselves as "urban archaeologists" seeking remnants of Tiki culture, the authors provide a fun... Read more

Published on March 14, 2003 by Trader Mort

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the start of things to come
This is an excellent picture book filled with great stories about the good old days. It will bring back memories of a tiki age gone. Read more

Published on January 28, 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tiki Treasure!
This book is full of photos of different tiki establishements and tiki memorabilia, not to mention loads of information on those items and the people who created them. Read more

Published on December 30, 2002 by Kara Hendricks

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