Caldwell’s book has a really interesting, provocative argument at its core. But the author dilutes his argument to a maddening degree by his insistence on transmitting “the spirit of the times” for every decade he describes. He does that by listing, in minutest detail, every TV show, every brand of somewhat popular products, and every song on the top charts.
When making a point about the displacement of typewriters by computers, he lists every single brand of typewriter that existed in 1982. The frankly pretty obvious point about the unexpected rise of computer technology is illustrated by an inane anecdote about Isaac Asimov praising Radio Shack decades ago.
Maybe I find this so annoying because I’m listening to the book on Audible instead of reading. But it bugs me to have to suffer through endless cultural trivia to get to the good stuff. For instance, there is a brief mention of how Reagan massively indebted the US economy in total contradiction to his declared belief in small government. I’d much rather see that point developed than hear about the most popular shades of stripes on ties in the 1980s (for real, that’s in the book).
By the way, it’s not just Caldwell. Almost all authors in this genre seem to write to an audience that must have emigrated from the most remote village in Guatemala yesterday.
Clarissa's Blog 
” hear about the most popular shades of stripes on ties in the 1980s”
It’s not your focus but that type of thing can be important for American readers… “power ties” became a thing in the 1980s (as weird as that sounds now) and a lot of the pop culture or other references that mean nothing to you might well be useful to Americans in understanding his point….
Of course if I were to read the book I might decide it’s irrelevant filler but I can understand how some readers could find it useful.
But I’m big into cycles and how cultural and political systems tend to repeat themselves (with variations of course but the repetitions are interesting.
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