1976, 1977 Signet edition
Wilson Bryan Key
Media Sexploitation
Original price $2.25, purchase price $1.65
Very worn paperback
C+
Weak follow-up to Subliminal Seduction, this doesn't offer much new beyond a discussion of subliminal appeals to other senses than visual (which is hard to demonstrate in print), and the embeds are harder than ever to see. Also, I'm dubious about the chapter on rock music. While it is possible that "Hey Jude" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" are drug songs, I can't buy some of Key's other conclusions, including that the Beatles are responsible for the "Paul is dead" rumors. For one thing, I think that the Beatles could've managed to get Paul's age right on the Abbey Road cover (28IF). Had there been a conspiracy, it would've been better done.
Still, I did enjoy the lesbian Sears ad and the cross-dressing Playboy and Oui covers. As I recall, his next book, Clam-Plate Orgy (1980), is better, or at least it has the best title of the bunch.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Welcome Back, Kotter #4: 10-4, Sweathogs!
1976, possibly first edition, from Grosset & Dunlap
William Johnston
Welcome Back, Kotter #4: 10-4, Sweathogs!
Original price $1.25, purchase price 49 cents
Worn paperback
C+
A TV tie-in book for one of my favorite shows of my preteens, this is much less funny than the program. (I've got the first season on DVD, and some of the later episodes, so trust me, this isn't just adult hindsight.) The main interest here, other than the characters acting somewhat out of character (including an uncanonical backstory for Horshack's father), is in the topical references to CB radios (hence the title) and the Bicentennial. I used to own #2, The Sweathog Newshawks, and recall it as having a better plot and I think better dialogue, although all the books seem to have been written by Johnston. As with the Pussycats crossword puzzle book, this only mildly satisfies nostalgia.
William Johnston
Welcome Back, Kotter #4: 10-4, Sweathogs!
Original price $1.25, purchase price 49 cents
Worn paperback
C+
A TV tie-in book for one of my favorite shows of my preteens, this is much less funny than the program. (I've got the first season on DVD, and some of the later episodes, so trust me, this isn't just adult hindsight.) The main interest here, other than the characters acting somewhat out of character (including an uncanonical backstory for Horshack's father), is in the topical references to CB radios (hence the title) and the Bicentennial. I used to own #2, The Sweathog Newshawks, and recall it as having a better plot and I think better dialogue, although all the books seem to have been written by Johnston. As with the Pussycats crossword puzzle book, this only mildly satisfies nostalgia.
MAD's Vastly Overrated Al Jaffee
1976, possibly first edition, from Warner Books
Al Jaffee
MAD's Vastly Overrated Al Jaffee
Possibly bought new for $3.95
Very worn paperback, with last page coming loose
B-
A collection of "lowlights" written and/or illustrated by Jaffee, covering from 1957 to the then present. Not only are there several fold-ins (with before and after versions) and some "Snappy Answers," but there are lesser known recurring features like "Hawks & Doves," "The MAD Hate Book," and my personal favorite, "MAD's Puzzle Page," as well as some interesting one-shots. "If Kids Designed Their Own Xmas Toys" is probably the best of the latter. Among the guest artists are Bob Clarke, who does a surprisingly dead-on parody of Charles Addams; and Wally Wood, illustrating "World Leaders," ca. 1960, including Ike, JFK, Nixon, Eleanor Roosevelt, De Gaulle, Brigitte Bardot, Jack Parr, and Elvis!
The most important thing to keep in mind when reading Al Jaffee is that he had an uncanny ability to predict future inventions, and that the things he humorously suggested really weren't yet around three or four decades ago. In this book alone, we see precursors to spell-check ("idiot-proof typewriters"), gimmicky postal stamps, the mute button on a remote, the breathalyzer, and the mechanical bull (well, horse).
As with the Snappy Answers book from 1972, this is entertaining but not hilarious. Also, I got tired of the mild sexism, though he's hardly the worst MAD contributor for that.
Al Jaffee
MAD's Vastly Overrated Al Jaffee
Possibly bought new for $3.95
Very worn paperback, with last page coming loose
B-
A collection of "lowlights" written and/or illustrated by Jaffee, covering from 1957 to the then present. Not only are there several fold-ins (with before and after versions) and some "Snappy Answers," but there are lesser known recurring features like "Hawks & Doves," "The MAD Hate Book," and my personal favorite, "MAD's Puzzle Page," as well as some interesting one-shots. "If Kids Designed Their Own Xmas Toys" is probably the best of the latter. Among the guest artists are Bob Clarke, who does a surprisingly dead-on parody of Charles Addams; and Wally Wood, illustrating "World Leaders," ca. 1960, including Ike, JFK, Nixon, Eleanor Roosevelt, De Gaulle, Brigitte Bardot, Jack Parr, and Elvis!
The most important thing to keep in mind when reading Al Jaffee is that he had an uncanny ability to predict future inventions, and that the things he humorously suggested really weren't yet around three or four decades ago. In this book alone, we see precursors to spell-check ("idiot-proof typewriters"), gimmicky postal stamps, the mute button on a remote, the breathalyzer, and the mechanical bull (well, horse).
As with the Snappy Answers book from 1972, this is entertaining but not hilarious. Also, I got tired of the mild sexism, though he's hardly the worst MAD contributor for that.
Josie and the Pussycats Crossword Puzzles
1976, possibly first edition, from Grosset & Dunlap
Dawn Gerger
Josie and the Pussycats Crossword Puzzles
Original price 75 cents, purchase price 49 cents
Worn paperback
C+
Twenty-four crosswords for children, I'm guessing approximately 3rd-grade level. Surprisingly, none of the words have been filled in for this copy, so an adult, or a bright child, can do the answers in his/her head, as I did.
Not every clue or even subject has much to do with the title band, although the illustrations show a member, or one of their friends, performing an activity related to the topic, like Alan M. happily at the dentist's office for "Tooth Talk." And not every clue is related to the subject. Some words are repeated, like "dogs." The book is mainly notable for the illustrations, which not only make Josie look as blonde as Melody but which (except for on the front cover in color) make Valerie look like a white girl with a perm.
The cartoon series from 1970-71 was being rerun at the time this book came out, and of course I was a fan of the show, and the "outer space" version. So I bought this book for nostalgic reasons as an adult, although it doesn't capture the charm of the show.
Dawn Gerger
Josie and the Pussycats Crossword Puzzles
Original price 75 cents, purchase price 49 cents
Worn paperback
C+
Twenty-four crosswords for children, I'm guessing approximately 3rd-grade level. Surprisingly, none of the words have been filled in for this copy, so an adult, or a bright child, can do the answers in his/her head, as I did.
Not every clue or even subject has much to do with the title band, although the illustrations show a member, or one of their friends, performing an activity related to the topic, like Alan M. happily at the dentist's office for "Tooth Talk." And not every clue is related to the subject. Some words are repeated, like "dogs." The book is mainly notable for the illustrations, which not only make Josie look as blonde as Melody but which (except for on the front cover in color) make Valerie look like a white girl with a perm.
The cartoon series from 1970-71 was being rerun at the time this book came out, and of course I was a fan of the show, and the "outer space" version. So I bought this book for nostalgic reasons as an adult, although it doesn't capture the charm of the show.
Cat Catalog: The Ultimate Cat Book
1976, possibly first paperback edition, from Workman Publishing
Edited by Judy Fireman
Cat Catalog: The Ultimate Cat Book
Bought newish for $6.95
Very worn paperback
B-
I remember getting this book when I was 8 or 9 and not understanding all of it (especially the bits about sex), but enjoying it because I loved cats and then lived with two. I haven't had a cat since leaving home at 20, never feeling rooted enough to get one, but I still like cats and hope to have one or two when I retire, if not sooner. (I no longer want to be an old lady with a dozen cats though.)
About a fourth of the book, Chapters VI through X (with headings like "The Healthy Cat"), seems like a feline version of Our Bodies, Ourselves. There's also information about cats in history, myth, and pop culture, as well as methods for training and breeding cats. The last chapter, "The Consuming Cat," seems skimpy, as if pet product merchandizing was still in its infancy.
This is a very '70s book, from its front cover painting of a giant cat hovering over the landscape to the discussions of astrology, psychology, and acupuncture for your cat. The parts on catnip show the era's casual attitude towards drugs. The humorous essay on cats sleeping in a pyramid was for years my main impression of "pyramid power." Also, "Oriental" was still being used as a term for "Asian," which is rarely the case these days. And finally, there is a story of Morris being interviewed by Gene Shalit. You can't get much more 1970s than that!
This was also of course decades before LOLcats, but not that long before one sentence got very ironic. After a lament that comics starring cats weren't as popular as in the first half of the century, with Snoopy the current most notable comics animal, the writer says, "But we can console ourselves, for some day another great cat comic will arrive on the scene." Some might disagree about whether Garfield is great, but there's no question that the comic, which debuted two years after this book came out, is very popular. (The world's most widely syndicated.)
It's still a fun book but would've been better with some color photos, especially in the chapter on breeds. Also the book could've used tighter editing, to avoid redundancies, as with the multiple discussions of the Black Plague. Still, I imagine getting all of these contributions, some from such celebrities as Edith Head, Adlai Stevenson, and Helen Gurley Brown, not to mention all the dead writers who are quoted, must've been like, well, herding cats.
I've now done more posts for the 1970s than any other decade, but I'm pretty sure that the 1980s will break that record.
Edited by Judy Fireman
Cat Catalog: The Ultimate Cat Book
Bought newish for $6.95
Very worn paperback
B-
I remember getting this book when I was 8 or 9 and not understanding all of it (especially the bits about sex), but enjoying it because I loved cats and then lived with two. I haven't had a cat since leaving home at 20, never feeling rooted enough to get one, but I still like cats and hope to have one or two when I retire, if not sooner. (I no longer want to be an old lady with a dozen cats though.)
About a fourth of the book, Chapters VI through X (with headings like "The Healthy Cat"), seems like a feline version of Our Bodies, Ourselves. There's also information about cats in history, myth, and pop culture, as well as methods for training and breeding cats. The last chapter, "The Consuming Cat," seems skimpy, as if pet product merchandizing was still in its infancy.
This is a very '70s book, from its front cover painting of a giant cat hovering over the landscape to the discussions of astrology, psychology, and acupuncture for your cat. The parts on catnip show the era's casual attitude towards drugs. The humorous essay on cats sleeping in a pyramid was for years my main impression of "pyramid power." Also, "Oriental" was still being used as a term for "Asian," which is rarely the case these days. And finally, there is a story of Morris being interviewed by Gene Shalit. You can't get much more 1970s than that!
This was also of course decades before LOLcats, but not that long before one sentence got very ironic. After a lament that comics starring cats weren't as popular as in the first half of the century, with Snoopy the current most notable comics animal, the writer says, "But we can console ourselves, for some day another great cat comic will arrive on the scene." Some might disagree about whether Garfield is great, but there's no question that the comic, which debuted two years after this book came out, is very popular. (The world's most widely syndicated.)
It's still a fun book but would've been better with some color photos, especially in the chapter on breeds. Also the book could've used tighter editing, to avoid redundancies, as with the multiple discussions of the Black Plague. Still, I imagine getting all of these contributions, some from such celebrities as Edith Head, Adlai Stevenson, and Helen Gurley Brown, not to mention all the dead writers who are quoted, must've been like, well, herding cats.
I've now done more posts for the 1970s than any other decade, but I'm pretty sure that the 1980s will break that record.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Reagan: The Political Chameleon
1976, possibly first edition, from Praeger Publishers
Edmund G. (Pat) Brown & Bill Brown (I don't know if any relation)
Reagan: The Political Chameleon
Original price unknown, purchase price $2.00
Good condition hardcover with worn dustjacket
B-
Let me start with a confession. I used to hate Reagan. For a long time after he left office, I could see/hear a recording of one of his speeches and get mad. I never felt this way about any other president. It's partly due to what he did in office and partly due to the age I was at the time, almost 13 to almost 21, roughly my adolescence. I could've saved this confession for when we actually get up to the 1980s, but I need to tell you now because of my odd reaction to this book.
Over the past decade, I've become more apolitical, not only paying less attention to current politics, but mellowing on the past. So when I started this book, which I haven't read more than once or twice before, and that probably shortly after Reagan left office, I didn't have any strong feelings about the subject. I was curious to see how Reagan's time as Governor of California (from a couple years before my birth in So Cal till shortly before my seventh birthday) looked to his predecessor. I vaguely remembered that when I read the book before, I kept thinking, Why didn't anybody see what kind of president he'd be? All the evidence was there! But I didn't remember specifics.
So for maybe the first half of the book, I was mostly amused, both at Reagan's quotes (many of them as contradictory as Nixon's in I Want to Make One Thing Perfectly Clear) and at Brown's failed attempts to try not to talk about his own experiences or personally attack Reagan. But as I went on, I got pissed off at Reagan, just like in the old days! Yes, Brown is biased, understandably, and it is funny when he can't help praising Reagan's successor, none other than Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. But I can't help it, Brown is right that Reagan was callous, particularly towards the poor. I do disagree with the back cover quote, that "Ronald Reagan's election to the Presidency would be a national disaster." It was more like an international disaster.
Reagan didn't get the nomination in '76, but that was probably just as well for him. By '80, the wounds of Watergate were partially healed, so a Republican could be elected president, especially one as charismatic as Reagan. And his time as governor was an accurate preview, except that Brown couldn't have predicted how much Reagan's anti-feminism would grow. I wish this book was longer and went into more detail, but as it is, it's still a good early look at a candidate that Brown himself didn't take seriously enough back in '66.
Edmund G. (Pat) Brown & Bill Brown (I don't know if any relation)
Reagan: The Political Chameleon
Original price unknown, purchase price $2.00
Good condition hardcover with worn dustjacket
B-
Let me start with a confession. I used to hate Reagan. For a long time after he left office, I could see/hear a recording of one of his speeches and get mad. I never felt this way about any other president. It's partly due to what he did in office and partly due to the age I was at the time, almost 13 to almost 21, roughly my adolescence. I could've saved this confession for when we actually get up to the 1980s, but I need to tell you now because of my odd reaction to this book.
Over the past decade, I've become more apolitical, not only paying less attention to current politics, but mellowing on the past. So when I started this book, which I haven't read more than once or twice before, and that probably shortly after Reagan left office, I didn't have any strong feelings about the subject. I was curious to see how Reagan's time as Governor of California (from a couple years before my birth in So Cal till shortly before my seventh birthday) looked to his predecessor. I vaguely remembered that when I read the book before, I kept thinking, Why didn't anybody see what kind of president he'd be? All the evidence was there! But I didn't remember specifics.
So for maybe the first half of the book, I was mostly amused, both at Reagan's quotes (many of them as contradictory as Nixon's in I Want to Make One Thing Perfectly Clear) and at Brown's failed attempts to try not to talk about his own experiences or personally attack Reagan. But as I went on, I got pissed off at Reagan, just like in the old days! Yes, Brown is biased, understandably, and it is funny when he can't help praising Reagan's successor, none other than Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. But I can't help it, Brown is right that Reagan was callous, particularly towards the poor. I do disagree with the back cover quote, that "Ronald Reagan's election to the Presidency would be a national disaster." It was more like an international disaster.
Reagan didn't get the nomination in '76, but that was probably just as well for him. By '80, the wounds of Watergate were partially healed, so a Republican could be elected president, especially one as charismatic as Reagan. And his time as governor was an accurate preview, except that Brown couldn't have predicted how much Reagan's anti-feminism would grow. I wish this book was longer and went into more detail, but as it is, it's still a good early look at a candidate that Brown himself didn't take seriously enough back in '66.
Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Book by and for Women
1976, but with a reference to a recent event in '77, so probably a later printing of the 2nd edition
The Boston Women's Health Book Collective
Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Book by and for Women
Original price unknown, purchase price $5.25
Very worn paperback
B-
Even at the time I bought this book, in the late '80s or early '90s, it was already dated, but that's not to say there's not still useful information about anatomy and health. There are of course later editions, including the ninth in 2011. This, the second edition, offers glimpses of left-of-center feminism at its height, and for a nonparous woman (never borne a child) it's especially interesting to see the rebellion against inhumane medical attitudes towards mothers and babies, as shown in fiction like A Proper Marriage and The Group, both in the 1950s, and to a lesser degree in Small Changes. We'll revisit this topic when we get to A Midwife's Story (1988) and The American Way of Birth (1999), both nonfiction, but I can say now that I knew during my more fertile years that if I ever had a baby, it would have to be a home birth. This book also convinced me to rely on birth control with the fewest side effects, condoms and a diaphragm, although condoms were not often used in the 1970s.
On the other hand, I can't say that I ever ate any healthier because of this or any other book. Although most of the book understandably concentrates on sexuality and reproduction, including acknowledgment of alternatives (the section on "dykes" is pretty well done, and there's sympathy for women who choose not to have children), there are chapters on diet, exercise, and self-defense. I wish that there was more on menopause, but that's probably partly due to the oldest woman in the collective being only 41. I'm sure this is something that's been expanded on in later editions.
As I said, there's a lefty bias, but they do try to recognize that each woman needs to do what works for her, at each stage of her life. One change from the earlier edition is that Roe v. Wade happened in the interval, so they talk about not only abortion but the "right-to-life" movement. It's strange to see Herpes mentioned so little, and not under Venereal Disease. And of course, AIDS wouldn't be discovered for another five years. The era of relatively safe sexual experimentation was still in full flower when this edition of the book came out. In the discussion of open relationships, they admit that jealousy and other issues must be addressed. They don't pretend to have the answers, or the best "liberated" lifestyle, but they share their stories and encourage other women to as well.
Each chapter ends with a list of resources on that particular topic. Although these are of course terribly out-of-date, I enjoyed reading their appraisals, with not everything getting a glowing review but its merit recognized. It's probably not a good idea to read the book cover to cover, particularly since some of the subjects are heavy, although they do try to keep a friendly, readable tone. There's a lot of text here, partly due to the font and partly due to the dimensions. But that's not the only reason I was grateful for the photographs. It's lovely to see the women-- sometimes with men, sometimes with each other, sometimes with children, and sometimes alone-- almost all delighting in their bodies and in life.
The Boston Women's Health Book Collective
Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Book by and for Women
Original price unknown, purchase price $5.25
Very worn paperback
B-
Even at the time I bought this book, in the late '80s or early '90s, it was already dated, but that's not to say there's not still useful information about anatomy and health. There are of course later editions, including the ninth in 2011. This, the second edition, offers glimpses of left-of-center feminism at its height, and for a nonparous woman (never borne a child) it's especially interesting to see the rebellion against inhumane medical attitudes towards mothers and babies, as shown in fiction like A Proper Marriage and The Group, both in the 1950s, and to a lesser degree in Small Changes. We'll revisit this topic when we get to A Midwife's Story (1988) and The American Way of Birth (1999), both nonfiction, but I can say now that I knew during my more fertile years that if I ever had a baby, it would have to be a home birth. This book also convinced me to rely on birth control with the fewest side effects, condoms and a diaphragm, although condoms were not often used in the 1970s.
On the other hand, I can't say that I ever ate any healthier because of this or any other book. Although most of the book understandably concentrates on sexuality and reproduction, including acknowledgment of alternatives (the section on "dykes" is pretty well done, and there's sympathy for women who choose not to have children), there are chapters on diet, exercise, and self-defense. I wish that there was more on menopause, but that's probably partly due to the oldest woman in the collective being only 41. I'm sure this is something that's been expanded on in later editions.
As I said, there's a lefty bias, but they do try to recognize that each woman needs to do what works for her, at each stage of her life. One change from the earlier edition is that Roe v. Wade happened in the interval, so they talk about not only abortion but the "right-to-life" movement. It's strange to see Herpes mentioned so little, and not under Venereal Disease. And of course, AIDS wouldn't be discovered for another five years. The era of relatively safe sexual experimentation was still in full flower when this edition of the book came out. In the discussion of open relationships, they admit that jealousy and other issues must be addressed. They don't pretend to have the answers, or the best "liberated" lifestyle, but they share their stories and encourage other women to as well.
Each chapter ends with a list of resources on that particular topic. Although these are of course terribly out-of-date, I enjoyed reading their appraisals, with not everything getting a glowing review but its merit recognized. It's probably not a good idea to read the book cover to cover, particularly since some of the subjects are heavy, although they do try to keep a friendly, readable tone. There's a lot of text here, partly due to the font and partly due to the dimensions. But that's not the only reason I was grateful for the photographs. It's lovely to see the women-- sometimes with men, sometimes with each other, sometimes with children, and sometimes alone-- almost all delighting in their bodies and in life.
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