With the ever-changing world we live in today, it’s no surprise that some people wish they could go back to the nineties. Whether it’s chatting on AOL Instant Messenger instead of Twitter, or wanting to play retro video games over today’s 10-gigabyte mega games, it seems you can’t go five minutes without someone wishing they could go back. As far as we know, Doc Brown hasn’t built his time machine yet, but these five books might help. From grunge to boy bands, film, and video games, these books will help you take a trip back to the 90s.
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Title-wise, this one is a bit on the nose, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a correct pick. Chuck Klosterman has built a name for himself as one of the best culture critics of Gen X, so who better to tackle the decade than him? His life and writing style have been shaped by the 90s. In some ways, his whole career was leading to writing this book.
The Nineties covers the decade in a far-reaching way, covering everything from college football to Oprah to Tiger Woods. You might not always agree with Klosterman’s assessments of certain events, but you will enjoy the way that Klosterman gets there. This isn’t a year-by-year analysis; it’s a look at how things came to be and how they were viewed at the time.
Everybody Loves Our Town by Mark Yarm (2011)
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To many people, the 90s evoke one particular image. That image is grunge. Flannels, leather jackets, and Nirvana t-shirts. Any “dress like the 90s” day will be filled with these outfits. Do kids these days even know the music when they wear these outfits? We don’t really want to think about that.
However, there was a moment in the 90s when Seattle grunge was the axis around which the entire world spun. This is the book to celebrate that time. Mark Yarm shepherds an oral history of the grunge era, straight from the mouths of those who lived it. Over 250 interviews shape the narrative here, including contributions from members of the big four: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains.
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Sega or Nintendo was a question that dominated schoolyards in the 90s. Nintendo was the home of Super Mario and the undisputed king of video games until Sega came around. With the release of the Sega Genesis, and Sonic the Hedgehog, Nintendo started to feel like one of the worst things you could be in the 90s: uncool.
How did we get here? And how did we get to the point where, in the end, Nintendo won, and Sega lost? That’s the story of Console Wars in a nutshell, but it doesn’t quite crack the surface of what it feels like to read this book. Harris writes the book like a novel, making it easy to understand and highly enjoyable. What is essentially a business book of competitors in an industry reads like a page-turning thriller.
Larger Than Life by Maria Sherman (2020)
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While grunge was the soundtrack of young men in the early to mid-90s, the late 90s were absolutely dominated by pop music, specifically, boy bands. From New Kids on the Block in the early part of the decade to Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC in the later part, boys who could sing and dance dominated the decade.
Maria Sherman covers those bands, and much more, in this definitive history of boy bands. The history starts way back with The Beatles and the Jackson 5, then delves into the artists who took those building blocks and created empires. NKOTB, BSB, *NSYNC, One Direction, and BTS are all covered here. Beyond the history, this book includes one-hit wonders, conspiracy theories, dating histories, and much more. Sherman is a certified boy band stan, and the book is filled with Tiger Beat-style illustrations that capture the bands perfectly.
Rebels on the Backlot by Sharon Waxman (2005)
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No look back at the 90s would be complete without a look at the movies that were made in the decade. The 90s were big not just for the movies on the screen, but for the directors who made their names in that decade. Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, David Fincher, Spike Jonze, David O. Russell, and recent Oscar winner Paul Thomas Anderson all made their debuts in the decade and shook up the industry in their own ways.
Rebels on the Backlot focuses on these six unique talents and shows how they each managed to take over Hollywood. With movies like Boogie Nights, Fight Club, and Being John Malkovich, these directors pushed the boundaries of moviemaking and changed it forever. This book is a necessary read for anyone who cares about great filmmaking from the 90s.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vince is the Entertainment Editor at Book Notification. His first book was Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss, and his passion for reading took off from there. He'll read just about anything, but can usually be found re-reading his favorite Pynchon novels and Seattle Mariners box scores.