Well written about a by-gone era (thank goodness)
352271
It was excellent and the weaving together of the two eras and the women was well done.  I, at times, found it hard to read.  The
subject matter was disquieting, but I really wanted to see it through.
2573727
I enjoyed this book immensely. I only gave it four stars because I don't particularly care for the time period, but the writing was excellent.
577429
Really good reading, and not only for those who lived that era.
3228513
good writing, good story,well layed out and a knowledge of the times and feelings of the glasgow people at that time  i loved it
1309152
Well written and very interesting. The use of period photos and incident details gave the reader a feel for what it may have been like. Could have had more (and better) maps.
1792391
I read this long, long ago for the first time and loved it. Nostalgia drove me back to re-reading many of the books of my youth. I liked a  lot of this again but skimmed through certain parts. It is good to get a sense of at least Cloete's version of late 19th century Britain and South Africa and his empathy for South Africa's country and peoples comes through. For those who think the world has become a poorer place than it used to be, check out his revelations re 19th C. prostitution, white slaving, race relations and the general inhumanity of Britain's concentration camps, the key device used to end the Boer war. Cloete's baddies are perhaps better characterizations than his Turnbull, Boetie and Miss Elsie (the heroes). Maybe its just that villainy is so much more dramatically attractive.

This is a good book to give you a sense of the miasma that was the Boer War. Though its happy endings (for most of its characters) may strike a slightly cynical nerve in a modern reader, it is filled with romance and great tragedy. Good for a nostalgic read that recalls an idealized past that never really existed.
4625972
Well worth the read, especially if you were (are) part of this era and lived in the great city of San Francisco.
1106694
Patricia has a wonderful way of writing that not only is informative but takes you back to that place in that time.  It was a fun read, about groups I grew up listening to and to look back in retrospect, she was right on many times.
885179
The time is well set, wearing English Leather, zippo lighters, music by the Rascals, fights at dances, madras belts, and young love that is described the way it may have felt for Dean and Theresa. The name Dean Cassidy is a shout out to Kerouac I suppose. I bounced around in this world until Chapter 17 and felt it was time to state that there is a lot here that is compelling. These early chapters hold a lot of memories for me of a time that was good, but I would not want to relive necessarily. I'm sure the jump to more recent times will be just as interesting, so I'll finish this review and go back to read more of this fascinating book.

If you love this book, you'll love&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Clip/dp/B004NIFN7U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Clip</a>&nbsp;as well.
1249490
My teens were lived there. Left late in 1953 never to return except for short visits. Michael put together a good historical guide which stirred pleasant memories while leading me through changes that let me know I had become an outsider of the area which once  was my whole world! You can go home again if you have a good guide. Thank you Michael for being my guide.
586010
I loved this book... and I hate these kinds of books. It was great that it was written by someone that has fondness for the subject and gets the nuances. Lots of insights into the milestones of the band and Morrissey's solo career. Great context and detail to past interviews and quotes. I relived that warm, nostalgia all over again.
3291857
I absolutely loved this book.
I bought after hearing about it on Dana Gould's podcast. It was excellent, especially the early days after vaudeville hit the bricks.
I will say that the time spent on the boom to present day felt rushed. Clearly, there would be less to discuss, as some of the repercussions of the last twenty years perhaps cannot be calculated until more time has passed. I would say, however, compared to the time spent on the evolution of radio and television, the section pertaining to the Internet and podcasting, or just the 90s till current, is a relative flash. This seems especially egregious as the Internet seems a much more destabilizing resource than the television. I'll allow that my perspective may be colored by the era in which I currently live, or that there may be a dearth of primary source.  Still, I would have liked the same attention applied to the recent past as the not-so-recent.
Still, if your complaint after reading a book is 'I wish there was more book,' then you can't be too upset.
Hearty reccomendation.
4755040
If you're old enough to remember radio from the 1940s (as I am), I recommend this readable account of radio during the 1920s and 1930s.  The story of radio moving from point-to-point transmission (radiotelephone) to broadcasting should be of interest to anyone interested in American history.  For me, it was an enjoyable trip down nostalgia lane.  Holy mackerel, Andy.
4745639
There's something about that nostalgic time of the 40's, 50's, and 60's, when it comes to "roadside attractions".  We as a society have become so used to "bigger, better, spectacular", that it's fun to look back to those times when cheesy themeing was still different enough that it would draw them in droves.  Dixie Before Disney: 100 Years of Roadside Fun by Tim Hollis covers those time periods, when Stuckey's and Rock City ruled the road in the South.  Many of those places are now gone, but it's fun to look back at how we used to define entertainment.

Contents:
I Wish I Was in Dixie; Stuckey's, Ten Miles; Peachy Beaches; Head for the Hills; Fantasy Lands; Old Time There are Not Forgotten; The Nature of Things; Spring Training; A Tropical Paradise in the Wild West; Epilogue; Bibliographical Essays; Index

Now to get the most out of this, you'd probably have had to be raised in the South during the golden age of motoring.  So many of these places were designed to draw the car full of family, either as a final destination or (most likely) as a stopping point along the way.  Hollis does a good job in mapping the highs and lows to major cultural shifts in our society.  World War II interrupted a number of plans, as rationing and service overseas took priority.  The energy crisis of the 70's also ravaged many of the attractions as people stopped driving as much.  The rise of affordable air travel, along with the emergence of mega-parks such as Disney closed the doors on many of the remaining places.  But still, there are a few left that let you step back into the past, such as some of the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museums and cities such as St. Augustine.

Hollis also does a great job of tracing how we've evolved (or not) in terms of minority and cultural understanding.  Being that the book is focused on the South, slave stereotypes were quite common.  He mentions how restaurants such as Mammy's Shanty and the Pickaninny Coffee Shop were open and operating in Atlanta as late as 1968.  Today many of us would be amazed that anything like that used to exist.  But back then, images like that were common and normal...

About the only thing I would have liked better in this book is the use of more colored photos.  There's a seven page inset in the middle that shows a few locations in their full colorful glory.  All other pictures are smaller black and white images interspersed with the narrative.  If the publisher could have spent the additional money for more color, Dixie Before Disney would have been truly outstanding.  Even so, it's still a very enjoyable trip back into yesteryear...
1907781
As much as anything else, it was terrific fun being taken back to the late 80s and early 90s. The book is a reminder of just how different things were then, with half the country watching some of these fights. That sense of a shared cultural experience is very rare these days, especially in the case of boxing. As well as the analysis of the various bouts, it's interesting to have the narrative interwoven with various other salient cultural currents changing the face of the country such as the rise of Sky and pay-per-view, the somewhat Thatcherite nature of Benn and Eubank etc.
936954
How quicky we forget how scandalous this was - it almost seems tame by today's standards.

This book tells the story of a world so different to now, and it brought back so many memories.  For those who did not live through the time, it may not be so easy to read, but defintiely worth the effort.
3177400
Delightful prose - and i'm old enough (87) to appreciate (just) the type of country existence of that period.  Excellent read, and will now continue to read the rest of the trilogy.