Review (PDF) Mad Men Carousel: The Complete Critical Companion
Mad Men Carousel is an episode-by-episode guide to all seven seasons of AMC's Mad Men. This book collects TV and movie critic Matt Zoller Seitz’s celebrated Mad Men recaps—as featured on New York magazine's Vulture blog—for the first time, including never-before-published essays on the show’s first three seasons. Seitz’s writing digs deep into the show’s themes, performances, and filmmaking, examining complex and sometimes confounding aspects of the series. The complete series—all seven seasons and ninety-two episodes—is covered. 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. Clarke’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 Beatles’ Revolver and the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds; and all the wars, protests, assassinations, and murders that cast a bloody pall over a chaotic decade. Mad Men Carousel is named after an iconic moment from the show’s first-season finale, “The Wheel,” wherein Don delivers an unforgettable pitch for a new slide projector that’s centered on the idea of nostalgia: “the pain from an old wound.” This book will soothe the most ardent Mad Men fan’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. It's the perfect gift for Mad Men fans and obsessives. Also available from Matt Zoller Seitz: The Oliver Stone Experience, The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads, The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Wes Anderson Collection.
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (November 10, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1419720635
ISBN-13: 978-1419720635
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.8 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #90,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #90 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Television > History & Criticism #432 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Essays & Correspondence > Essays #1372 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts
Simply splendid. Thorough, smart, and thought-provoking. Normally these sorts of companion books to TV shows are . . . eh, okay at best. But Mad Men Carousel goes above and beyond -- it's excellent. As a die-hard Mad Men fan who has watched the whole series numerous times, I can honestly say that I love this book and highly recommend it.
This is a very good companion for anyone interested in the deeper levels of Mad Men episodes. Although the analyses of some episodes - such as the superb sixth season finale - are disappointing and miss the mark, most discussions are thorough, enriching and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting a better understanding of this superb show.
Fails to deliver on one level...if you are writing a critique of "The Greatest Series of All Time"--one expects more than a glossing over of favorite episodes. And combining episodes instead of devoting singular episode review. What I like is that he obviously loves MadMen as I do. I will have to look at this with other eyes and compare his with my own. And the symbolism is extraordinary. Will have to re-watch these episodes again comparing my evaluation with Seitz's. Thank you for doing an amazing job.
More than a companion, Carousel is a deeper analysis of each episode of Mad Men than can be found anywhere. Matt's insights into each episode, highlighted with fantastic footnotes and endnotes, give the feeling of rewatching the entire series with a more knowledgeable friend.
Book arrived sooner than expected. Reading these recaps makes Mad Men even more fascinating! Love all the details, historical explanations, references and footnotes. Perfect Christmas gift for the Mad Men fan!
I've watched the entire series at least 3 times, and probably more like 4 or 5. Even for a die-hard like me, this book was pretty intense -- but thoroughly enjoyable. When I first received it I thought it would take me a month to get through. A week later I was finished and rewatching episodes (yes, again). If you're a Mad Men fan this is a great book.
Wow! Thoroughly enjoying Mad Men Carousel. I did notice an error in my Kindle version regarding Howard Johnson ' s. The endnotes on the chapter "Far away places" states it began in Quincy Maryland. As a native Maryland er I was unfamiliar with Quincy. Nope, was supposed to be Quincy Massachusetts. Still excellent.
You were immediately drawn to Mad Men and couldn’t quite put a finger on why. There was something seductive about a show set at a NYC ad agency in the early 60s. You could see a woman guiltlessly pursing marriage and family, or a man standing up to cry-bullying. It seemed a welcome escape from today’s matriarchy.This is what the show’s creators counted on. Let them come here with the promise of experiencing a more sane time, then we will show them by deception just how bad the period really was, how poorly women were used and mistreated, how much upper and middle class whites looked down on blacks and most of all how empty everyone’s life was.It’s how well written and performed the show is that is the problem. It takes a keen eye to see the exaggeration and manipulation. Mad Man is diabolical in its portrayal of married life in the 60s. The reality, as study after study shows, is that women were happier in the 60s than they are today. And before the rise of the welfare state blacks were doing much better. These facts must not be let out!But for social justice warrior, Matt Zoller Seitz, the show did not go far enough in distorting reality and manipulating viewers. The assassination of MLK, for example, was a missed opportunity to put a minor black character center stage. Artistic integrity be damned. Seitz clearly shares the dominant view of art within mainstream entertainment today, that’s its only real purpose is to perpetuate myths that keep the left in power.
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