I have now read Steve Stack’s ’21st Century Dodos’ and I enjoyed it so much I thought it warranted a review (go here for my original post – with author interview AND unicycling).
I loved it, and I sailed through its 230 plus pages of nostalgic cap-tipping to all those once familiar objects we rarely see any more (or see rarely as their numbers are so few) with both a smile on my lips and a wistful look on my face. It’s nice to be reminded of good things. It’s nice to be reminded of bad too. But what Stack manages admirably to do, is make you sigh and laugh, almost at the same time. I like, too, that certain things I’d not heard of (duocans anyone?) were explained. The book is both an education and entertaining.
But what did it for me, and what, I think, is perhaps the best endorsement of the book, was everyone else’s reaction to it.
On Saturday we had a barbecue. My sister, her husband, and their son are visiting from China, and my brother and his other half came up from London. My parents were there too. They saw the book, they asked about it, and they talked about it, flicking through it, and we remembered things together. And I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but there was something in it for everyone. Certain cars that, a few years ago, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing, that just aren’t around any more (though I did see a Ford Sierra yesterday); Green Shield Stamps; computer games you had to load from a cassette; ring pulls – even Rag and Bone Men (a job my great-grandfather had).
So, there you go. A book I loved and one that will, I’m sure, appeal to many others, all with different ages and preferences. We each have our own history and I think you’ll find at least some of it in this remarkable volume.
And if that isn’t a good enough endorsement, why not pop over here, to see an extract?
A wonderful book. And one that’ll make you popular at barbecues.