Home :: Books :: Entertainment  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment

Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
The Simpsons and Society: An Analysis of Our Favorite Family and Its Influence in Contemporary Society

The Simpsons and Society: An Analysis of Our Favorite Family and Its Influence in Contemporary Society

List Price: $18.95
Your Price: $13.27
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >>

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Simpsons on a Serious Level
Review: It's always a pleasure to read about The Simpsons from an academic angle. As a college student, I envy those students who are enrolled in Tufts and other universities that feature Simpsons courses in their cirriculum. That said, this book, along with "The Gospel According to The Simpsons", and the Simpsons guide books (3), satiate my desire for Simpsons knowledge. It's nice to read about specific episodes, then watch the DVDs and examine the satirical humor that is inherent to the series. I also enjoyed the Postman essays (2). My favorite part was the quotes. Any book with Homer quotes makes me laugh. The book is a credit to the longest running animated series of all time. It is great that the series has begun to merit serious attention from fans and scholars alike. (As a college student, I suppose I'm somewhere in between a fan and a scholar :) As I get older though, The Simpsons do not. And it's that stability that is so central to the greatest TV show of all time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's The Simpsons! ~ Funny and Serious Book
Review: I recently purchased "The Simpsons and Society" at a bookstore near me. I usually buy most of The Simpsons books- especially the ones that deal with the academic elements of the series. "The Simpsons and Society" met my expectations from an academic standpoint. Furthermore, the quotes made me laugh. Any book that discusses what Neil Postman would say about Homer's television watching is worth reading. If you're a Simpsons fans, this is a great book to add to your collection.
Also recommend: "The Simpsons and Philosophy"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A REAL REVIEW.... NICE BOOK, SIMPSONS FANS SHOULD ENJOY
Review: A funny, sociological study of The Simpsons.
I'm still in the process of completing "The Simpsons and Society", but I've enjoyed what I've read thus far. The chapter about Bart's behavior is especially interesting: The author outlines the reasons that Bart Simpson has not been a negative influence on the behavior of American children. Homer's chapter discusses his parenting techniques, Marge's chapter discusses her role as an under-appreciated mother... and that's as far as I've gotten in the book so far. I'm looking forward to reading the academic essays at the back of the book, and am enjoying the quotes (although a couple of quotes are not worded entirely correct: that's why I give this book 4 stars and not 5).
First of all, I'm writing this review as a response to the one or two people who posted negative reviews. Please do not accuse me (or other legitimate reviewers) of knowing the author: I do NOT know the author personally, but I appreciate quality writing when I read it. And "The Simpsons and Society" is indeed quality writing worthy of serious consideration in programs devoted to Simpsons studies.
I am disheartened by the fact that the 'negative' reviews are posted mainly by 'a reviewer from {the same area of the country]. Evidently, one or two people post multiple negative reviews. And that's unfair to the amazon.com customer community, the author, and the publisher. I cannot vouch for whether or not Keslowitz's friends posted positive reviews, but if they enjoyed the book, that's perfectly fine. The point is that, from an objective standpoint, I enjoyed reading "The Simpsons and Society". The book will remain a keepsake on my bookshelf.
By and large, the positive reviews are posted from various parts of the United States: Florida, Westchester, Queens, etc... And it's difficult to believe that Keslowitz has friends in all parts of the country. Don't waste time reading the negative reviews. MY ADVICE: READ THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK - IF YOU'RE A FAN OF THE SIMPSONS, AND ARE INTRIGUED BY THE DESCRIPTION, CHECK IT OUT. I'm glad that I did.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: It's one thing to think a book is horrible . . .
Review: which, make no mistake, I do -- this book is spectacularly worthless, in ways that other reviewers (the real ones) have noted -- but another thing entirely to publicly admit to the fact that I read it. I do this now only so that potential buyers will believe me when I say DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!

Make sure to disregard the four star (or whatever it is today) overall review and notice that aside from the author and/or his agents, no actual reviewer gives the book even two or three stars. The author should personally send a refund and an apology to anyone who purchased the book on Amazon after reading the "reviews."

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't be fooled by flood of NY reviews
Review: Sift through the positive reviews and you'll notice 3 things: 1.) The author goes to college in NY. All those good reviews are from his friends in Westchester and Queens.
2.) The 5 star editorial review is from the small college publication that Keslowitz writes for, not an unbiased, 3rd party publication.
3.) Everyone that doesn't know Keslowitz personally hates the book. Just look through the reviews further to see what I mean
The fact that this book was published makes me sick to my stomach. What makes me even sicker is that people are actually wasting their money on it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: WORTH THE READ
Review: If you enjoyed the other academic Simpsons books (Irwin's and Pinsky's books), you will enjoy this one as well. The above description posted on amazon basically describes the book. If you like The Simpsons, satire, and/or popular culture, The Simpsons and Society is worth checking out. Furthermore, the second half of the book is suitable for use in more academic settings (college courses, academic discussions, etc..), while the first half of the book seems to be designed for the die-hard Simpsons audience. (I personally enjoyed the academic essays in the second half of the book).
As a Simpsons fan, I buy basically all of the Simpsons books. I've enjoyed Irwin's The Simpsons and Philosophy, and Pinsky's book as well. The guide books are also well put together. After reading about the book on nohomers.net, I checked out the link to the NY Daily News article posted on the internet. I figured that if the NY Daily News wrote about the book, it should be worth the read.
The reason that reviews and articles published in big papers are more relevant is because the writer of the article puts his name to it. Conversely, some negative reviews posted on amazon are planted by readers anonymously (" a reader from"). So I'd recommend, as other reviewers have noted, reading the excerpt posted on The Simpsons Archive (www.snpp.com), and the NY Daily News article. There are probably other articles out about the book too. Stick with the reviews found in big publications: they generally won't steer you wrong.
Since I am writing this 'review', I should say that I enjoyed the book. The quotes serve to make the book fun as well as intellectual. If you're a fan, check it out.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Can I give it 0 stars?
Review: As a die-hard fan I felt a duty to finish the book; the best thing I can say about it is that it was short, and printed in huge font. Nice cover though. Don't be fooled by the other reviews.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 100% SIMPSONS CONTENT... INTERESTING
Review: Another superb academic book about America's favorite television series, The Simpsons. The Simpsons and Society is enjoyable because it relates academic aspects of The Simpsons to contemporary American life. The best parts: the quotes are hilarious, and the two academic essays that touch upon Neil Postman's views on media culture tie in The Simpsons quite well. It's interesting to read about a critic of media culture (Postman), and the poster boy for television (Homer Simpson) in the same essay. Nice job. 4 stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AN INTRIGUING BOOK
Review: The Simpsons and Society provides readers with an in-depth analysis of the popular television series. Keslowitz's essays provide a breadth of information. The book is, at turns, fun, interesting, and enlightening.
The Simpsons and Society is the type of book that is intended to be read more than once because of the author's inclusion of numerous Simpsons quotes. It's a nice academic book, though not quite as complex as The Simpsons and Philosophy. It's an easier read, but well worth doing so. In 150 pages, Keslowitz proves his thesis: The Simpsons is certainly more than "just a cartoon", as he notes.
The academic essays at the back of the book make it suitable for academic college courses taught on The Simpsons. I'd recommend this book to professors and students of Simpsons studies.
Well-written, intellectual, and funny, the book is a terrific read if you're a Simpsons fan. And if you're not a Simpsons fan, start watching the show!
THE SIMPSONS - GREATEST TV SERIES OF ALL TIME

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't buy this book
Review: This book is terrible, and by far the worst Simpsons related piece of writing on the market. The content is worthless: pedestrian insight based on mangled Simpsons quotes. The writing style is equally irritating. Normally I'm not one to complain (caveat emptor and all that), but I cannot abide the obvious planting of fake ratings by the author at this site and at other online bookstores. Potential buyers rely on the veracity of those ratings when making their purchasing decisions. By planting fake comments the author is essentially using fraud to increase the sales of his work. Shameful.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates