From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century

by David Mansour

More than 150 million Americans were born after the post-World War II years. Almost all of them know, remember, and hold dear to their hearts the numerous memories that stretch From ABBA to Zoom .

Take a walk . . . down memory lane, you Boomers and Gen Xers! From ABBA to Zoom is sure to grab anyone born in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, or '80s. Whether you grew up watching The Huckleberry Hound Show, Johnny Quest , or Sesame Street , this cultural encyclopedia is sure to draw you into a nostalgic and fun-filled read that you just can't put down.

American pop culture aficionado David Mansour spent 18 years accumulating an extensive collection of dolls, lunch boxes, board games, TV memorabilia, and other items from the 1960s through the '90s. That fascination, along with his lifelong lists--from "best toys" to "all-time coolest singers"--were the genesis for this wide-ranging volume of Boomer and Generation X treasures.

Readers will relish the mere mention of some of their greatest childhood and adolescent connections, then rush to learn the well-researched details behind those icons. Farrah Fawcett's feathered hair, James Bond movies, Lost in Space , Woodstock--it's all here! In page after page, more than 3,000 references arranged alphabetically make this a true trip through the Boom Times. Totally groovy!

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Pop Culture, Trivia, Music

560 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book rocks!!! i love it sooooo much! It is the perfect pop culture dictionary EVER! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap trivia to waste paper. And yea, this 20th century is still going in the head of Mansour, as Zoom was founded in 2012, but hardly anyone has heard about this piece of software prior to the 2020 government shutdowns.

[Jeannette · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok book about culture/society in the latter part of the 20th century. Well arranged but not interesting to me, too many names, too many sippets, I wanted more synthesis

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information was fun but would have loved pictures.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Gen X-ers who are slaves to pop culture (as I am), this is a fun, encyclopedic walk down memory lane. The expected references are all there, of course, but some of the entries will surprise you. I must confess, I had nearly forgotten about "Wonderbug" and "The Groovy Ghoulies." Vive la trivia!

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century by David Mansour (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2005) (306.0973) is an entertaining and memory-evoking encyclopedia of popular culture from the 1970's through the turn of the century. This is a cute concept. My rating: 7/10, finished 9/17/13.

[Cyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read the entire book but read bits and pieces of it. It was very entertaining but since the copy I read was from the library, I eventually had to return it. I might just get my own copy.

[Orxancalilov]

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[William Brophy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun book!

Very fun book!

I loved this book! Much fun going back to all the fads and Saturday morning cartoon shows of yesteryear! Buy it!