Booknote: Television Series of the 1960s

(Post crossposted from The Itinerant Librarian)

Vincent Terrace, Television Series of the 1960s: Essential Facts and Quirky Details. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-4422-6834-0.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: reference, television, trivia, pop culture
Format: hardback
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

This is a reference book about trivia of 1960s television shows. If you watched TV during this decade, or like me caught the reruns in syndication later, you'll remember these were some of the most loved and popular shows of American television. They were so popular that they keep providing fodder for remakes and movie adaptations, often with  bad results. There is something to be said for not messing with classics.

The book is arranged as follows:

• Short introduction where the author describes how the book was put together. 
• 82 individual entries arranged alphabetically. 
• An index that is basically actor's names. There is also an additional thematic index, which may be more valuable. 

As the author states, this book does not have essays or opinions. It is just a collection of facts and trivia about the shows. The book covers programs that premiered from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969. The author notes that shows that premiered in the 1950s and were still running in first run in the 1960s are not included. Some examples of shows not included are Bonanza, The Donna Reed Show, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, and Zorro. The author focuses on really trivial facts, not so much things you could find in places like imdb.com. You get things like street addresses, names of pets, and other details that other sources often miss. A fascinating thing for me is show producers, intentionally or not, could be very inconsistent. Street addresses and car license plates often change without reason, sometimes even in midseason.

So how did the author compile all this? He acquired and watched every available episode of each show. And not every show is featured in the book; it depends on what information is available. A show like Dr. Kildare, very popular in its time, is not included in the book because there  is not enough available material to make an entry. In the end, the book is a selective compilation that often documents details not found elsewhere.

This is a book to browse at your leisure. For shows I knew, it was nice to go down memory lane and recall details. I also learned about some shows I did not know before. Entries are pretty basic, just the facts. There are a few black and white photos, but overall the book is minimally illustrated. For television buffs, this may be a good option. I'd say public libraries may wish to consider it. Academic libraries with strong pop culture programs may see it as an optional selection.

In the end, I liked it.

3 out of 5 stars

This  book qualifies for the following 2017 Reading Challenges:

Booknote: Puerto Rico Past and Present: an Encyclopedia

(Crossposted from The Itinerant Librarian)

Serafin Mendez Mendez, with Ronald Fernandez, Puerto Rico Past and Present: an Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-4408-2831-7.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: reference, Latino Studies, Puerto Rico, country studies
Format: hardback
Source: Borrowed from Hutchins Library, Berea College 

This was a recent acquisition for my library. My library does not have much on Puerto Rico. Before this volume, our copy of War Against All Puerto Ricans (link to my review) was about the only current thing we had, and I ordered that book. Now, we are a small liberal arts college in Kentucky, so I get Puerto Rico as topic is not a high priority. However, when the "latest" books are ones that still spell the island's name as "Porto Rico" that is a problem in my humble opinion. So this reference book provides a start to to alleviating the issue. With Puerto Rico in the news recently in light of the island's economic and humanitarian crisis (here is a small account explaining it a bit), some timely and  basic sources are needed. This reference book at least provides some of the basics.

This is the second edition of this reference work. I have not seen the first edition, so I cannot do a comparison. According to the current author, the first edition won an ALA Denali Award; the previous edition was published in 1998, so an update was long overdue, and I am glad it got done.

The one-volume encyclopedia is arranged as follows:

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chronology of important events. It goes from 1493 to 2015
• 189 entries arranged alphabetically
• Two appendices
• Representative leaders of the first stage of the feminist movement in Puerto Rico
• Representative writers by generation
• A selected bibliography

On the entries, the author writes,

"It provides longer and extended entries with a deep sense of context as well as reliable historic background. There are new, revised, and extended essays on language, education, religion, geography, the environment, social media, and many other subjects" (xviii). 

Entries range from historical subjects and topics to politics and pop culture. The book's focus is on more contemporary topics, but it still provides plenty of material for folks interested in history.

For students, this is a solid resource to learn more about Puerto Rico. The book features entries on major topics that may be of timely interest such as the recently implemented IVU (a sales and use tax, think an "added value tax"), the LGBT movement on the island, and political representation of the island in the United States. Such entries will give a newcomer a broad overview. Readers wanting to dig deeper will find additional entries on more specific topics.

Each entry includes the essay, cross-references, and a short list of references for those wanting to learn more on a topic. The book also features some good black and white photography on certain topics.

In addition, I'd say for Puerto Rican readers, this book can be a bit of a nostalgia trip, especially for those like me who have been living in the U.S. mainland for many years. Browsing through the entries brought back many memories.

This is a good selection for libraries. For students seeking information on Puerto Rico, say for a paper, this is a good start. It can be a very good start for libraries with little or no materials on  Puerto Rico. If you want to say  you have at least something, you can't go wrong with this basic, solid, well-written, and reliable reference book. I'd recommend it for both public and academic libraries.

Though I think the author tries to be too cheery at times (the island is currently experiencing some seriously hard times), it is a balanced work overall. There are not many books I'd add to my personal collection; I'd add this one.

(Reference Book, no rating given)