The Nineties

A Book

By: Chuck Klosterman

Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman, Dion Graham

An instant New York Times bestseller!

“Informative, endlessly entertaining.”—BuzzFeed

“Generation X’s definitive chronicler of culture.”—GQ

From the author of But What If We’re Wrong comes an insightful, funny reckoning with a pivotal decade

It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. Landlines fell to cell phones, the internet exploded, and pop culture accelerated without the aid of technology that remembered everything. It was the last era with a real mainstream to either identify with or oppose. The ’90s brought about a revolution in the human condition, and a shift in consciousness, that we’re still struggling to understand. Happily, Chuck Klosterman is more than up to the job.

In The Nineties, Klosterman dissects the film, the music, the sports, the TV, the pre-9/11 politics, the changes regarding race and class and sexuality, the yin/yang of Oprah and Alan Greenspan, and (almost) everything else. The result is a multidimensional masterpiece, a work of synthesis so smart and delightful that future historians might well refer to this entire period as Klostermanian.

©2022 Chuck Klosterman (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“In The Nineties, Klosterman examines the social, political and cultural history of the era with his signature wit. It’s a fascinating trip down memory lane.” —Time

“Always an astute cultural observer and a fan of deep dives into any subject, Klosterman is focused here on a decade in American life that he says is often portrayed as ‘a low-risk grunge cartoon’ . . . Klosterman’s gift is seizing on those moments that any Gen Xer can readily recall and pulling the strings a bit to put it in some kind of historical perspective.” —Associated Press

“Serving up the moments and meanings of a modern decade in a few hundred pages is no easy task, but Chuck Klosterman has managed to boil a hearty stew of insight. . . . [Klosterman is] a master of smooth setups and downbeat finishes.” —USA Today

A trip through the decade

This was a very enjoyable audiobook. I liked the way it was set up where each chapter covered some major event of significance through the 90s. Technically, you did not have to listen to the book from start to finish you could jump around if you wanted to. I listened from start to finish though. I enjoyed how it gave a current view of how we looked at each event but then coupled it with a view of the event in real time. This book talked about pop culture, including chart topping songs and movies, presidents, major events and technological advances during this decade. It also talked about some of the fads and styles during the time. Believe it or not, some of which, are coming back into style currently. It really gave a good view of all of the major events that happened through this entire decade up to and including the Y2K scare. Growing up in the 90s it was interesting because I didn’t look at things this way as I was a little bit young but looking back and hearing it told like this was very very interesting. Definitely give this one a shot I enjoyed it very very much and it tells a great story of how special this decade truly was.

Okay

Great book if you want to hear from the perspective of someone who didn’t always believe American Beauty was a trash piece of 90’s pop culture.

loved the footnotes

This book brings up many of the best parts of the '90s and explores them with a focus on the ways we create memory.

Fun for people of a certain age

I enjoy this a lot. I very much remember the 90's and was a fan of Klosterman's other works. If you're expecting a complete academic history look elsewhere but if you want hot takes this is the place.

90’s

I have read Klosterman a lot over the years. His books have all been informative and entertaining. His narration is terrific and it made me nostalgic over a time period I grew up in.

Awesome

Please read/listen to this book as it serves as a blueprint to who we were today!

great nostalgia

This was really good. I'm a millennial and this is more of a Gen X take but I learned a lot about things I couldn't have understood as a kid in the 90's but do recall hearing about.

It's full of a lot of interesting knowledge that hindsight brings. I'd definitely recommend it. I love the cover so much! We all had that phone!!

Gripping tale of a lost innocence

Or maybe ignorance? Anyone who didn’t live through the 90s (I was a teenager and 20s) should listen to or read this book. It will help you understand Generation X. For those of us who lived it, this feels like an honest retelling of the good, the bad, and the bowl haircut ugly. I didn’t give it 5 stars because the vocabulary often had me running to my dictionary app. I don’t mind high brow but it made the audiobook slightly harder to follow.

Excellent Recap of the 90s

Klosterman provides a thorough and detailed recap of the events that took the country from the greedy 80s to the nation-changing 9/11 attacks. The times are explained with connections to todays events with a well-researched understanding of Gen X. This book is well worth reading to really get the feel of the 90s!

5 Stars

The Book Chuck was born to write! Good to hear him narrate it too.