The Nineties

Más información sobre el libro

It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. In the beginning, almost every name and address was listed in a phone book, and everyone answered their landlines. By the end, exposing someone's address was an act of emotional violence, and nobody picked up their cell phones if they didn't know who it was. The 90s brought about a revolution in the human condition we're still trying to understand. Chuck Klosterman navigates this era with insight, exploring shifts in society: the rise of the internet, pre-9/11 politics, and the belief that trying too hard was humiliating. Pop culture accelerated, fostering uncertainty. On a 90's Thursday night, more people watched any random episode of Seinfeld than the finale of Game of Thrones, and missing it was just part of life. It was the last era that embraced a true, hegemonic mainstream before it began to fracture. Klosterman examines the film, music, sports, TV, politics, and changes in race, class, and sexuality, capturing the essence of the time. In perhaps no other book would a sentence like, “The video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was not more consequential than the reunification of Germany” make complete sense. Klosterman's work is a multi-dimensional masterpiece that future historians might refer to as Klos