The 1970s (Decades of the 20th Century)

Rating:
Summary: Another strong book in a great series
Review: Although this is not my favorite book in this absolutely stellar series, it is nonetheless another strong addition. One of the great virtues of these books is that they allow one to compare one decade of the 20th century with another. It may be that my failure to enjoy this one as much as ones on other decades might stem from it being an "unfun" decade. It was not a joyous, happy decade. Vietnam was winding down, horrors were being inflicted in Uganda, Cambodia, and in many other spots in the world, and terrorism grew at an alarming rate. The photographs collected in this collection reflect all of this.

My other complaint, however, is that the book failed to register many of the truly major cultural movements of the decade. Feminism and the Gay Rights movements, more or less created the decade on a massive scale, receive minimal notice. Disco, which, as anyone alive in the decade vividly recalls, had a powerful and highly visual impact on the latter part of the decade. The book also promotes some widespread misunderstandings. For instance, the text shows some pictures of English punk rock fans, and states that punk began in England and later spread to the U.S., while the truth was quite the opposite. The term "punk" was invented, as applied to music, by Legs McNeill, and was applied well before the English Punk scene to the New York city music scene, to bands and performers like the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, the Ramones, and the Dead Boys.

The book also brings out the fact that the seventies was one of the less interesting decades of the century, far less exciting in many ways to the twenties, the thirties, or the sixties. But I think the main reason this book fails to be quite as exciting as other books in the series is the fact that the photos are just not quite as compelling as in other volumes.

Still, this remains a great, great series, and I can't recommend strongly enough collecting all the books in the collection. I remain very excited about the forthcoming titles that will complete the century, and which should be available in the spring of 2003.