Synopses & Reviews
Mad Men Carousel is an episode-by-episode guide to all seven seasons of AMCand#39;sand#160;
Mad Men.
This book collects TV and movie critic Matt Zoller Seitzandrsquo;s celebrated Mad Men recapsandmdash;as featured onand#160;
New Yorkand#160;magazineand#39;sand#160;
Vultureand#160;blogandmdash;for the first time, including
never-before-published essays on the showandrsquo;s first three seasons. Seitzandrsquo;s writing digs deep into the showandrsquo;s themes, performances, and filmmaking, examining complex and sometimes confounding aspects of the series.
The complete seriesandmdash;all seven seasons and ninety-two episodesandmdash;is covered.
and#160;
Each episode review also includes brief explanations of locations, events, consumer products, and scientific advancements that are important to the characters, such as P.J. Clarkeandrsquo;s restaurant and the old Penn Station; the inventions of the birth control pill, the Xerox machine, and the Apollo Lunar Module; the release of the Beatlesandrsquo; Revolver and the Beach Boysandrsquo; Pet Sounds; and all the wars, protests, assassinations, and murders that cast a bloody pall over a chaotic decade.and#160;and#160;
Mad Men Carousel is named after an iconic moment from the showandrsquo;s first-season finale, andldquo;The Wheel,andrdquo; wherein Don delivers an unforgettable pitch for a new slide projector thatandrsquo;s centered on the idea of nostalgia: andldquo;the pain from an old wound.andrdquo; This book will soothe the most ardent Mad Men fanandrsquo;s nostalgia for the show. New viewers, who will want to binge-watch their way through one of the most popular TV shows in recent memory, will discover a spoiler-friendly companion to one of the most multilayered and mercurial TV shows of all time.and#160;
Itand#39;s the perfect gift for Mad Menand#160;fans and obsessives.
Praise for Mad Men Carousel:
andquot;Took me back to the days when youandrsquo;d actually look forward to your favorite TV hour, the immersive pleasure bath ofand#160;now what are they going to do?andquot;andmdash;David Chase, creator of The Sopranos
andquot;Matt Zoller Seitzandrsquo;s recaps are in service toand#160;Mad Menandrsquo;s excellence and complexity. First-rate work.andquot;andmdash;David Milch, creator of Deadwood and writer-producer for NYPD Blue
andquot;In this gorgeous collection of recaps, Matt Zoller Seitz seeks the wisdom within Matthew Weinerandrsquo;s visionary television show, examining it from every angle, shaking it like a snow globe. A treat for anyone who cares about television.andquot;andmdash;Emily Nussbaum, TV critic for The New Yorker
andquot;Pithy, witty, smart, and from the heart: Thatandrsquo;s what we expect from a classic Don Draper pitch, and Matt Zoller Seitz captures all of these qualities in his must-readand#160;Mad Menand#160;recaps.andquot;andmdash;Maureen Ryan, TV critic for The Huffington Post
andquot;Matt Zoller Seitz writes about television more passionately and compellingly than any other critic writing today. Withand#160;Mad Men, heandrsquo;s found his Shangri-La.and#160;Mad Men Carouseland#160;is essential reading for fans like me, who eagerly awaited his trenchant and witty analyses almost as much as the groundbreaking show itself. Thought-provoking and wildly entertaining, this brilliant collection of essays makes me want to revisit all seven seasons of the greatest American television show ever produced.andquot;andmdash;Robert Falls, artistic director of Chicagoand#39;s Goodman Theatre
andquot;Matt Zoller Seitzand#39;s brilliantly elaborate dissection and exploration of this equally complex series makes this collection absolutely essential forMad Menand#160;obsessives like myself.andquot;andmdash;Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Aimee Mann
andquot;I envy anyone who has never watchedand#160;Mad Menand#160;and gets to experience it for the first time with the invaluably perceptive Matt Zoller Seitz close at hand. For the rest of us, this addictive and rewarding deep-dive into every episode is an irresistible reason to revisit a great series.andquot;andmdash;Mark Harris, author of Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of New Hollywood and Five
Review
A New Yorker "Book to Watch Out For" A Vulture "Beach Read"
A Christian Science Monitor "10 Best Books of July"
Review
"[A] wonderfully reported and thoughtful exploration…
Difficult Men is grand entertainment, and will be fascinating for anyone curious about the perplexing miracles of how great television comes to be."
—Wall Street Journal
"Martin is a thorough reporter and artful storyteller, clearly entranced with, though not deluded by, his subjects… In between the delicious bits of insider trading, the book makes a strong if not terribly revelatory argument for the creative process."
—Los Angeles Times
"Martin offers sharp analysis of the advances in technology and storytelling that helped TV become the 21st century's predominant art form. But his best material comes from interviews with writers, directors, and others who dish about Weiner's egomania, Milch's battles with substance abuse, and Chase's weirdest acid trip ever."
—Entertainment Weekly
"Enjoyable, wildly readable."
—Boston Globe
"An engaging, entertaining, and utterly convincing chronicle of television's transformation… Martin operates with an enviable fearlessness, painting warts-and-all portraits of autocratic showrunners such as David Milch (Deadwood), David Simon (The Wire) and Matthew Weiner (Mad Men)… Anyone interested in television should read this book, no matter how much or how little they know about the shows it chronicles."
—Newsday
"Difficult Men, with its vigorous reporting and keen analysis, is one of those books that crystallizes a cultural moment and lets you savor it all the more."
—Dallas Morning News
"Martin's analysis is intelligent and his culture commentary will be of interest to fans of many of today's better-written shows."
—Christian Science Monitor
"Masterful… unveils the mysterious-to-all-but-insiders process that takes place in the rooms where TV shows are written."
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
'Difficult Men delivers what it promises. Martin had good access to actors, writers and producers . . . Difficult Men is an entertaining, well-written peek at the creative process."
—Fort Worth Star Telegram
"A vastly entertaining and insightful look at the creators of some of the most highly esteemed recent television series… Martins stated goal is to recount the culmination of what he calls the 'Third Golden Age of Television.' And he does so with his own sophisticated synthesis or reporting, on-set observations, and critical thinking, proving himself as capable of passing judgment, of parsing strengths and weaknesses of any given TV show, as any reviewer who covers the beat… in short, the sort of criticism that must now extend to television as much as it does to any other first-rate art."
—Bookforum
"[Showrunners are] as complex and fascinating in Martins account as their anti-hero protagonists are on the screen… Breaking Bad, The Shield, and Six Feet Under have dominated the recent cultural conversation in the way that movies did in the 1970s…. Martin thrillingly explains how and why that conversation migrated to the erstwhile 'idiot box.' A lucid and entertaining analysis of contemporary quality TV, highly recommended to anyone who turns on the box to be challenged and engaged."
—Kirkus (starred)
"Martin deftly traces TV's evolution from an elitist technology in a handful of homes, to an entertainment wasteland reflecting viewers' anomie, to 'the signature American art form of the first decade of the twenty-first century.'"
—Publishers Weekly
"Brett Martin lays out the whole story of TVs new Golden Age — lucidly and backed by awesome reporting (and TV watching)… Difficult Men delivers the inside story of the creation of these landmark TV shows, along with Martins astute take on how these series fit into the larger pop cultural landscape of the early 21st century… If I were you, Id pre-order this terrific book on my Kindle or Nook. It should be among the most talked-about non-fiction titles of the summer."—ctnews.com
Review
andquot;Took me back to the days when youandrsquo;d actually look forward to your favorite TV hour, the immersive pleasure bath of now what are they going to do?andquot;
Review
andquot;Matt Zoller Seitzandrsquo;s recaps are in service to Mad Menandrsquo;s excellence and complexity. First-rate work.andquot;
Review
andquot;In this gorgeous collection of recaps, Matt Zoller Seitz seeks the wisdom within Matthew Weinerandrsquo;s visionary television show, examining it from every angle, shaking it like a snow globe. A treat for anyone who cares about television.andquot;
Review
andquot;Pithy, witty, smart, and from the heart: Thatandrsquo;s what we expect from a classic Don Draper pitch, and Matt Zoller Seitz captures all of these qualities in his must-read Mad Men recaps.andquot;
Review
andquot;Matt Zoller Seitz writes about television more passionately and compellingly than any other critic writing today. With Mad Men, heandrsquo;s found his Shangri-La. Mad Men Carousel is essential reading for fans like me, who eagerly awaited his trenchant and witty analyses almost as much as the groundbreaking show itself. Thought-provoking and wildly entertaining, this brilliant collection of essays makes me want to revisit all seven seasons of the greatest American television show ever produced.andquot;
Review
andquot;Matt Zoller Seitzand#39;s brilliantly elaborate dissection and exploration of this equally complex series makes this collection absolutely essential for Mad Men obsessives like myself.andquot;
Review
andquot;I envy anyone who has never watched Mad Men and gets to experience it for the first time with the invaluably perceptive Matt Zoller Seitz close at hand. For the rest of us, this addictive and rewarding deep-dive into every episode is an irresistible reason to revisit a great series.andquot;
Synopsis
The 10th anniversary edition, now with a new preface by the author "A wonderfully smart, lively, and culturally astute survey." - The New York Times Book Review
"Grand entertainment...fascinating for anyone curious about the perplexing miracles of how great television comes to be." - The Wall Street Journal
"I love this book...It's the kind of thing I wish I'd been able to read in film school, back before such books existed." - Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad and co-creator of Better Call Saul
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the landscape of television began an unprecedented transformation. While the networks continued to chase the lowest common denominator, a wave of new shows on cable channels dramatically stretched television's narrative inventiveness, emotional resonance, and creative ambition. Combining deep reportage with critical analysis and historical context, Brett Martin recounts the rise and inner workings of this artistic watershed - a golden age of TV that continues to transform America's cultural landscape. Difficult Men features extensive interviews with all the major players - including David Chase (The Sopranos), David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire), David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood), Alan Ball (Six Feet Under), and Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) - and reveals how television became a truly significant and influential part of our culture.
Synopsis
A revealing look at the shows that helped TV emerge as the signature art form of the twenty-first century In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the landscape of television began an unprecedented transformation. While the networks continued to chase the lowest common denominator, a wave of new shows on cable channels dramatically stretched televisions narrative inventiveness, emotional resonance, and artistic ambition. Combining deep reportage with cultural analysis and historical context, Brett Martin recounts the rise and inner workings of a genre that represents not only a new golden age for TV, but also a cultural watershed. Difficult Men features extensive interviews with all the major players, including David Chase, David Simon, David Milch, and Alan Ball; in addition to other writers, executives, directors and actors. Martin delivers never-before-heard story after story, revealing how cable television became a truly significant and influential part of our culture.
Synopsis
Mad Menand#160;spun inventive storytelling, rich characterization, and symbol-laden gamesmanship into an entrancing puzzle. Its drama follows the life of Donald Draper, a brilliant but deeply damaged Madison Avenue adman. Its story spans March 1960 through November 1970, refracting the lives of Donandrsquo;s home and work families, as well as American history, through his broken soul.
and#160;
What did it all mean?
and#160;
Mad Men Carousel will keep viewers company as they try to answer that question for themselves. This book collects all of TV and movie critic Matt Zoller Seitzandrsquo;s celebrated Mad Men recaps for the first time, including never-before-published essays on the showandrsquo;s first three seasons. Seitzandrsquo;s writing digs deep into the showandrsquo;s themes, performances, and filmmaking, examining complex and sometimes confounding aspects of the series. All seven seasons and ninety-two episodes are covered.
and#160;
Each episode review also includes brief explanations of locations, events, consumer products, and scientific advancements that are important to the characters, such as P.J. Clarkeandrsquo;s restaurant and the old Penn Station; the inventions of the birth control pill, the Xerox machine, and the Apollo Lunar Module; the release of the Beatlesandrsquo; Revolver and the Beach Boysandrsquo; Pet Sounds; and all the wars, protests, assassinations, and murders that cast a bloody pall over a chaotic decade.and#160;
Mad Men Carousel is named after an iconic moment from the showandrsquo;s first-season finale, andldquo;The Wheel,andrdquo; wherein Don delivers an unforgettable pitch for a new slide projector thatandrsquo;s centered on the idea of nostalgia: andldquo;the pain from an old wound.andrdquo; This book will soothe the most ardent Mad Men fanandrsquo;s nostalgia for the show. New fans, who will want to binge-watch their way through one of the most popular TV shows in recent memory, will find an episode-by-episode guide to accompany their viewing experience. Longtime fans of Mad Men or of Seitzandrsquo;s writing will discover an engaging, thoughtful, and entertaining companion to one of the most multilayered and mercurial TV shows of all time.and#160;
Itand#39;s the perfect gift for Mad Menand#160;fans and obsessives.
About the Author
Matt Zoller Seitz is the TV critic forand#160;
New Yorkand#160;Magazine, the editor-in-chief of RogerEbert.com, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism, and the author of the
New York Times bestsellers
The Wes Anderson Collection (Abrams, 2013) and
The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Abrams, 2015), as well as the forthcoming
The Oliver Stone Experience (Abrams, 2016). He is the founder and original editor of
The House Next Door, now a part ofand#160;
Slantand#160;Magazine, and the publisher of
Press Play, a blog of film and TV criticism and video essays.
A Brooklyn-based writer and filmmaker, Seitz has written, narrated, edited, or produced more than a hundred hoursandrsquo; worth of video essays about cinema history and style for The Museum of the Moving Image andand#160;The L Magazine, among other outlets. His five-part 2009 video essay, andldquo;Wes Anderson: The Substance of Style,andrdquo; was later spun off into The Wes Anderson Collection, and his 2008 video essay series andldquo;Oliver Stone: The Official Historyandrdquo; is the partial basis for The Oliver Stone Experience.
Megan Abbott is the Edgarandreg;-winning author of the novels Queenpin, The Song Is You, Die a Little, Bury Me Deep, The End of Everything, Dare Me, and her latest, The Fever, which was chosen as one of the Best Books of the Summer by the New York Times, People magazine, and Entertainment Weekly, and one of the Best Books of the Year by Amazon, National Public Radio, the Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times.
Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salon, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, the Believer, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Abbott is also the author of a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and the editor of A Hell of a Woman, an anthology of female crime fiction. She has been nominated for many awards, including three Edgarandreg; Awards, the Hammett Prize, the Shirley Jackson Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Folio Prize. She lives in New York City.
Max Dalton is a graphic artist living in Buenos Aires, Argentina by way of Barcelona, New York, and Paris. He has published a few books and illustrated some others, including The Wes Anderson Collection (Abrams, 2012) and The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Abrams 2014). Max started painting in 1977 and since 2008, he has been creating posters about music, movies, and pop culture.