A provocative, interesting, well-researched, and well-written work that will make an important contribution to studies of memory and modern culture and will illuminate Americans' evolving relationships with their past.
Susan Matt, Weber State University, author of Homesickness: An American History Retro is big business. Nostalgia fuels demand for oldies music, muscle cars, television reruns, vintage fashion, and a dizzying ... Read morearray of collectibles and kitsch. In a history that is stunning in its breadth and insights, Gary Cross, the preeminent historian of consumer culture, explores the allure of past fads and fashions and examines nostalgia in its diverse forms, from the toys, dolls, popular music, and television that recapture a lost youth to the heritage museums and theme parks that act as sites of collective memory. Americans may consider themselves a forward-looking people, but their nostalgia for remnants of the past remains intense.
Steven Mintz, University of Texas at Austin, author of The Prime of Life: A History of Modern Adulthood This informative look at collecting and consumerism is recommended for researchers of history, memory, cultural studies, and consumption. Library Journal An important addition to the growing body of literature on nostalgia.
Tobias Becker H-Soz-u-Kult Show Less