While not everything that made the 70s my favorite decade is adequately covered in this book, there's a lot of biggies here. The Pet Rock. Watergate. Vietnam. Punk and Disco. This book is supposed to be about 1970-1979. Yet, a good portion of this book looks at the years that led to the Me-Decade as well as the aftermath of the decades that followed. But then again, any history book worth it's salt must focus on both the cause and effects of history!
I did learn a lot about things of the 70s that I knew very little to nothing about. Things like how the Sex Pistols got their name. Just who is Gary Gilmore? And there was tons of fun facts peppered throughout this book.
I wasn't such a big fan of the writing. The Witching's Jonathan Vankin does a good job at presenting the facts. But he puts too much of his own commentary into the book. I was quite surprised how anti-Jerry Brown the author is. Same with Jimmy Carter. But he really skewers Reagan and portrays the 80s icon as a demon. Quite unfairly, I must say...
One subject I was surprised is absent here was the rise of the gay community. Harvey Milk is completely absent from this book. There's also nothing about the Black Panthers. And this has got to be the first book I've ever read that covers the 1970s and doesn't dip it's toe into the sensationalism that is Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre!
Maybe not the most complete look at 10 turbulent years in world history. But you learn things that have been glossed over in American history as well. I didn't know we had a meat shortage in the 70s and I am a professional chef. But hey, we got to learn about the 1970s in graphic novel/comics form. And that's pretty groovy!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: a very fitting 7 out of 10 stars.
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