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Loading... Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By (edition 2009)by Anna Jane Grossman, James Gulliver Hancock (Illustrator)
Work InformationObsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By by Anna Jane Grossman
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. An encyclopedia-style list of various technologies and customs that are either already gone or appear to be on their way out, ranging from the obvious (dial-up modems, asbestos) to the more surprising or debatable (nuns, phone sex) to the snarkily flippant (full words, aging). Many of the entries are really just one-sentence jokes, others feature longer discussions that might include a brief history of the technology in question, or some comments from people who were experts in whatever-it-is when it was still relevant. While those sections are sometimes actually informative, the book as a whole has a decidedly humorous, tongue-in-cheek sensibility. I did find it mildly amusing. But, although she states in the introduction that she's not going to, the author does sometimes give off a bit of a "Geez, kids today!" vibe, which is an attitude I find rather annoying and try hard to quash in myself. Also, inevitably, it all just makes me feel old. At 43, some of my own habits are already a little old-fashioned, and looking forward to the inevitable day when everything about me will seem ancient to the young and everything about the young will seem befuddling to me is almost too depressing to laugh at. ( ) Obsolete presents ~130 products, practices, and concepts that have become obsolete or are rapidly heading that way. First conceived as an article in the Washington Post Magazine, the book is organized encyclopedia-style with almost two-thirds of the entries mere sentences or short paragraphs that vary in interest/entertainment from little to none. But the book’s strength is in the other third -- entries that are explored over several pages with humor and reasonable depth (considering this is a light book). My favorites include cursive handwriting (which seems like an aspect of personality!); doing nothing at work (which reminds me of doing nothing generally, and the research that correlates the demise of boredom with the demise of creativity); landline telephones (including operators, party lines, rotary dials, phone books and phone booths; the shift in power from the caller to the callee); and privacy (fame is now a universal ambition). The content is decidedly boomer-oriented and apt for reminiscing; readers unfamiliar with the concepts will not grasp much about them here. But there are also wake-up calls, for example that texting is making email and audio phones obsolete outside the workplace. And there are cautionary notes about collective knowledge and history: “Most of us probably imagine knowledge to be cumulative: Each advance is built on prior discoveries, block piled upon block in an ever-growing edifice. We don’t think of the blocks underneath as crumbling away or, worse yet, simply vanishing.” Recommended to skim. no reviews | add a review
A cultural catalog of everyday things rapidly turning into rarities--from landlines to laugh tracks. So many things have disappeared from our day-to-day world, or are on the verge of vanishing. Some we may already think of as ancient relics, like typewriters (and their accompanying bottles of correction fluid). Others seem like they were here just yesterday, like boom boxes and CDs. We may feel fond nostalgia for certain items of yore: encyclopedias, newspapers, lighthouses. Other items, like MSG, not so much. But as the pace of change keeps accelerating, it's worth taking a moment to mark the passing of the objects of our lives, from passbooks and pay phones to secretaries and skate keys. And to reflect on certain endangered phenomena that may be worth trying to hold on to--like privacy, or cash. This thoughtful alphabetized compendium invites us to take a look at the many things, ideas, and behaviors that have gone the way of the subway token--and to reflect on what is ephemeral, and what is truly timeless. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)306.460973Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Culture and Institutions Specific aspects of culture TechnologyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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