Reviews for The dustbin of history

The average rating for The dustbin of history based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-08-31 00:00:00 Brandon Betts I've owned this for years, at least a decade, but the density and abstraction of the opening essay, coupled with the book's relative lack of music writing, rendered this something less than a must-read. But I'm very glad I gave it another shot, and a little annoyed with myself for not trusting that Marcus would make something interesting and worthwhile out of Nazi-hunting thriller novels, various visual artists, Susan Sontag, and the unknown-to-me early-R&B businesswoman Deborah Chessler, among the numerous subjects he tackles here. As usual, I find myself facing down an unpredictable shopping list -- Marcus is bad (but so good!) for my wallet. (A sampling: Peter Handke's Short Letter, Long Farewell, the works of Eric Ambler, Peter Schneider's The Wall Jumper -- Germany looms large in this book -- and movies like American Hot Wax and The Manchurian Candidate.) The overall themes here aren't all that unusual for Marcus -- secret and shadow histories, one-off moments of transcendence and revelation, the triumphs of small, often forgotten pieces of popular culture -- but what makes The Dustbin of History a little different from the rest of his work (at least what I've read of it) is its range. He's all over the map here, both geographically and metaphorically. In a way, it's sort of strange to see some of his old standbys, like Bob Dylan and Robert Johnson, in this context, just because they're such familiar touchstones for his work, but it's not like their presence doesn't make sense. For a collection of pieces written anywhere between the mid-'70s and the mid-'90s, it holds together remarkably well, and I can definitely see myself revisiting at least half a dozen of these essays for years to come.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-10-21 00:00:00 Robert Huber If life still allows me to be at a good university and to be able to go to a series of lectures on diverse and loosely linked subjects, and to take my time with some of the more closely argued concepts and to be made to chuckle with recognition or surprise, then life would be quite like reading The Dustbin of History. Sometimes obscure, sometimes somewhat dated in his points of cultural reference (ok it was published in 1995 - but even then it was only dons and bar props who were pointing to these sources) but always well argued, thought provoking and entertaining. I've been drawn through these essays at a dash. I shall return to each one separately and give it the full attention it deserves.