Wow! eBook
The Birth (and Death) of the Cool Second edition
Author(s): Ted Gioia (Author)
- Publisher: Chicago Review Press – Fulcrum
- Publication Date: December 18, 2018
- Edition: Second edition
- Language: English
- Print length: 256 pages
- ISBN-10: 1682750159
- ISBN-13: 9781682750155
Book Description
It’s hard to imagine that “the cool” could ever go out of style. After all, cool is style. Isn’t it? And it may be harder to imagine a world where people no longer aspire to coolness. In this intriguing cultural history, nationally acclaimed author Ted Gioia shows why cool is not a timeless concept and how it has begun to lose meaning and fade into history. Gioia deftly argues that what began in the Jazz Age and became iconic in the 1950s with Miles Davis, James Dean, and others has been manipulated, stretched, and pushed to a breaking point—not just in our media, entertainment, and fashion industries, but also by corporations, political leaders, and social institutions. Tolling the death knell for the cool, this thought-provoking book reveals how and why a new cultural tone is emerging, one marked by sincerity, earnestness, and a quest for authenticity.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Ted Gioia is a musician, author, jazz critic, and a leading expert on American music. His previous books The History of Jazz and Delta Blues were both selected as notable books of the year in the New York Times.
