Reviews

The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman

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soulphilosophy's review

informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

Summer Book Review - Book No. 10: “The Nineties” by Chuck Klosterman

Date started: 8/8/22
Date finished: 9/2/22

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (would recommend reading at some point, but only if you lived through the 1990’s)

Spoiler free review: Since I first read Klosterman’s “Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story” back in 2008, I’ve always been eager to read his next pop-culture treatise as soon as they came out. As a writer for Spin magazine, Esquire, ESPN, The New York Times, and various other outlets, Klosterman’s grasp on the minutiae that captivates our society has generally made for some excellent essay collections and books. In fact, as a former trivia host, there’s no doubt in my mind that Klosterman is one of those people that could probably decimate a trivia night on his own.

Previous books of his have focused on everything from rock star death tragedies (“KYtL”), to the relationship between expectation and reality (“Eating the Dinosaur”), to our love/disdain of villains in the media (“I Wear the Black Hat”), to a complete questioning of how we interpret everything in life (“But What if We’re Wrong?”). Klosterman gives the topics he discusses in all of these the attention they deserve to indicate he’s not just aware of the topic; it’s more like he wants to be an authority on each one and in turn makes you feel like one after reading. Even his essay collections “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs” and “IV” are thoughtful treatises on wide ranging topics, though without the through line of his other works.

While “The Nineties” doesn’t lack the attention of his previous works, Klosterman seemingly turns the book into a self-fulfilling prophecy the longer you read it. Early on, he argues that many aspects of life in the 90’s - politics, sports, media, technology - were only possible because it was the 90’s. Much of what we know now about those experiences - The Matrix, the advent of home internet, the rise and eventual decline of album sales, the home run race of 98, the role of cable news media - all of these things and more would undoubtedly have been different in the decades both preceding and following the 90’s. Whether you agree or disagree with Klosterman, my favorite part of his works is simply engaging in the thought exercise to begin with. I wouldn’t say “The Nineties” is his best work, but Klosterman is absolutely one of the best representatives to try and summarize the decade.

errski's review against another edition

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4.0

I really liked this book, it was really interesting and informative. I was born in 1994, so while I knew basics of a lot of history though the 90s I didn't know that much, and didn't have much active lived experience. I was definitely draw in by the cover, but was not disappointed.

zombiezami's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

Having been a child in the '90s, I was not cognitively able to understand most of what happened during that time. And, of course, many history classes in K-12 usually struggle to get anywhere near the present by the end of the term. I learned details about the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Rodney King riots, and the O.J. Simpson case primarily through stand-up comedy.

I could tell you about the computer games I played, the shows I watched, and my interests as a kid during the '90s, but other than that, I'm not well-versed in what was going on. This book definitely did fill in some of those gaps. Even so, I feel that this should be called The Nineties in the United States, since that's where most of the focus of the book is. The focus was often pretty white, also. The author barely discussed hip hop. Most of the media with casts of color the author mentions receive very little discussion.

Content Warnings