In The Soho Press Book of '80s Short Fiction, editor Dale Peck offers readers a fresh take on a seminal period in American history, when Ronald Reagan was president, the Cold War was rushing to its conclusion, and literature was searching for ways to move beyond the postmodern unease of the 1970s. Morally charged by newly politicized notions of identity but fraught with anxiety about a body whose fragility had been freshly emphasized by the AIDS epidemic, the 34 works gathered here are individually vivid, but taken as a body of work, they challenge the prevailing notion of the ’80s as a time of aesthetic as well as financial maximalism. Formally inventive yet tightly controlled, they offer a more expansive, inclusive view of the era’s literary accomplishments. The anthology blends early stories from writers like Denis Johnson, Jamaica Kincaid, Mary Gaitskill, and Raymond Carver, which have gone on to become part of the American canon, with remarkable and often transgressive work from some of the most celebrated writers of the underground, including Dennis Cooper, Eileen Myles, Lynne Tillman, and Gary Indiana. Peck has also included powerful work by writers such as Gil Cuadros, Essex Hemphill, and Sam D’Allesandro, whose untimely deaths from AIDS ended their careers almost before they had begun. Almost a third of the stories are out of print and unavailable elsewhere. The Soho Press Book of ’80s Short Fiction is a daring reappraisal of a decade that is increasingly central to our culture.

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO THE ERA NO-ONE HAS EVER FORGOTTEN - THE 80s - BECAUSE THOSE OUTFITS WERE SO RAD YOU HAD TO WEAR SHADES. Welcome to the 1980s. Mum and dad have described it to me, and it was totally whack. It was a time when crimped hair and perms were cool, kids listened to cassette tapes, thought dancing on your head was the ultimate, and synth pop ruled the school. It makes no sense to me of course, but it looked kinda fun, don't you think? My Folks Grew Up in the '80s is a stroll down memory lane for the kidz who grew up then, and a hilarious chance to share the decade's downright weirdness with a whole new generation.

A humorous and nostalgic trip through a typical 80s childhood. Told through the eyes of a normal (ish) British kid from the Birmingham suburbs. A time when urban exploration on your bike was a day long adventure, a Wimpy birthday party the equivalent of a party on a celebrity yacht, Diamond White was a teenage rite of passage and people still wrote love letters and dreamed of winning the pools. Where no one did anything online and the only phones at home were landlines that probably had a lock on. 80s Kid tells the story of a different world, even though it wasn't that long ago.

The music of the 1980s left an indelible mark on pop culture. Thanks to the dawn of MTV and the increasing affordability of synthesizers, a generation of innovative artists took the world by storm to create one of the last great glory eras of pop music. To get to the heart of what made this decade so special, music journalist Jim Beviglia weaves a narrative of the stories behind the pop music phenomenon. Playing Back the 80s: A Decade of Unstoppable Hits features original interviews with more than sixty artists, producers, session players, writers, and others who were directly involved with the most memorable songs of the decade. Among those who appear in Playing Back the 80s are iconic artists like Huey Lewis, Rick Springfield, Kim Carnes, Vernon Reid, Dennis DeYoung, Colin Hay, and Eddie Money telling the stories of how they created, often against imposing odds and in the midst of bizarre circumstances, the unstoppable hits and unheralded gems that still enchant so many fans today. Playing Back the 80s will have music fans pulling their old cassettes out of storage and remembering when and where they heard the songs first. For those who didn’t grow up in the 80s, this endlessly fun book will show them what the fuss was all about and maybe reveal a few surprises along the way.

Nostalgia for the music, fashion, fads and style of Generation X is booming. Richard Evans presents the best of the decade that brought us Madonna, My Little Pony, Sinclair ZX computers, Margaret Thatcher, Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, Legwarmers, the Walkman, breakdancing, Knight Rider, Brat Pack movies, the Rubik's cube and countless other cultural icons that changed pop culture for ever. Beautifully illustrated, this ultimate time capsule of a book features new interviews with countless 80s bands and pop acts, it also reviews each year of the 80s; what was going on in music, fashion & fads, current affairs, sport, Film & TV, etc. Real-life memories will also be dotted throughout the book - contributions will come from among the thousands of fans of the author's massively popular 80s website RememberTheEighties.com, as well as many 80s stars.

This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever worn Z-Cavariccis, listened to A Flock of Seagulls and watched the A-Team. We grew up in a generation of big hair and high top Reeboks. A generation where bell bottoms were out and acid wash was in. The music was loud, sitcoms were funny and Saturday morning cartoons were amazing. We all remember getting scolded (or worse) by our teachers and not suing them over it. Our time wasn%u2019t spent on the internet, but out in malls and in parking lots. We got into fights at school but made the best friends we ever had from them. I hope that all of you will enjoy reading about my little blast from the past as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. Our past is what has made us who we are today and has molded us into the men and women we%u2019ve become. We mustn%u2019t forget that. And remember, although this material has been taken from a part of our life that happened a long time ago, it was really only yesterday...

(Paperback Songs). 69 big '80s hits: The Best of Times * Call Me * Ebony and Ivory * Endless Love * Footloose * Glory of Love * Heat of the Moment * I Just Called to Say I Love You * Jack and Diane * Karma Chameleon * Kiss on My List * La Bamba * One More Night * Start Me Up * Summer of '69 * Sweet Dreams Are Made of This * Thriller * Walk like an Egyptian * more.