Addicted to Americana: Celebrating Classic & Kitschy American Life & Style

I have Americana the Beautiful: Mid-century Culture in Kodachrome, so decided to nab this book as well. Just like Americana the Beautiful, it's lavishly illustrated and done in a very cute, eye dazzling retro style. However, the aim is completely different from the author's previous work. Whereas Americana the Beautiful was about showing kodachromes of everyday American life with some brief commentary, this is more a mixture of kodachromes and snapshots of Charles Phoenix traveling around the US tracking down visiting various roadside attractions. So, it's more of a travelogue if anything. And, I have to say, it's a really great one, filled with a plethora of terrific photographs and background information about a lost period in American pop culture that's disappearing by the second and never got the love and appreciation it should have. You also get to learn where a lot of roadside architecture is still standing or what museums they were sent to, so that's a major plus.However, as great as it is, I agree with some of the reviewers complaining about Phoenix. Some complain about him being in the photos too much. Actually, that's not the issue. It's just that he mugs way too much for the camera in ways that come across as forced. I know what he was going for (like a character out of a corny 1940s or 1950s vintage ad), but the mugging is so over the top that he comes across as the classic suburban dad who thinks he's so funny with his bathroom reader jokes when he's the corniest thing around. I think what is especially turning people off is that he kept replicating that famous Home Alone poster of Macauley Culkin holding his cheeks in surprise. The first time he did this was kind of cute but by the tenth time, I just cringe in embarrassment and thought, "Gosh, what a goofball."Some of the text and photos also came across as a bit self-aggrandizing. I got the sense that he thinks he's a much bigger deal than he thinks he is, like he's reached Bill Nye or Steve Irwin status of cult figure. (He hasn't.) He also name dropped Paul Reubens, which I felt was a little tacky and inappropriate, given the circumstance. (It seemed as if Reubens was either in a bad mood that day or just wasn't enthusiastic about a destination the both of them went to together.)These quibbles aside, I think it's minor compared to what a treasure trove this book is. Ever since a Populuxe-style establishment near my house got torn down, I've been looking hill and dale for the perfect book that captures all the architecture and pop culture artifacts of the jet set era, and I think that Phoenix pretty much nailed it with his approach. Not that other books on the subject are bad but that I just wanted a coffee book that crammed in as many examples of this style as possible without too much dry, academic text, and this one hit the sweet spot. I think I even like this better than Americana the Beautiful, even though that one was technically better. This book has more architecture and road signs, which is what I was desperately looking for.So, I can't recommend Addicted to Americana enough, and I can't wait to see more from the author. If I had any suggestions for him it would be that in the future, if he does any more travelogues, to maybe hire a better photographer who can pose him in a way that captures his fun-loving persona, but not go so over the top with it to where everyone's groaning and rolling their eyes like they do at the corny comic who uses a spinning tie and rubber chicken as part of his act.

I disagree with the reviewers who thought there were too many pictures of Charles in the book. Actually, there should be even more! They should paste his face on the body of every man, woman, mermaid and dinosaur in the book. He should be on every sign, sitting in every car, pointing to every attraction and his "holding my cheeks in amazement" photo should be on every page. Some books are a labor of love, this one is a labor of self-love.

I would have enjoyed the book much more if Charles didn't use it as a showcase to plaster his over the top, goofy, glee-filled smiling face on every other page.

A few criticize Charles Phoenix for placing himself too prominently in this book, but after receiving this book I disagree, and Charles is only someone I have had somewhat limited prior knowledge of. This book is very clearly about AMERICANA as presented by Charles and although he's definitely taking a back seat to the wealth of historic images, they are his collection, passion and stories, and it makes perfect sense to me that he's ever-present. I certainly never thought his inclusion was obtrusive in any way. I really enjoyed his perspective and anecdotes guiding me through the large and beautifully presented collection. My 87 year old mother really enjoyed the trip down memory lane too! It's a great book FILLED with pages of great photos at a great price. Get it.

Great book on days gone by with a lot of nice photos and memories. The only thing that is bothersome is the proofreading wasn’t very good...a lot of I corrected things make it a little hard to read (for me, it’s because I want to make the corrections). Bit other than that, it is so cool. Happy with my purchase.

I've loved all of the Charles Phoenix books, and this was a nice addition. However, most of the places and things shown are located in California. It would have been nice if more non-CA stuff was covered. Where was the South of the Border Motel ? South Carolina wants to know.One thing I found interesting is that in earlier books, Charles appears one time. In this book, he appears 66 times. Maybe the next book will be "Addicted to Charles".

Fun, kitschy nostalgia from mid-century America. Phoenix is from around the same area in SoCal that I grew up, so many of the pictures are of my own childhood, but there are restaurants, motels and them parks across the country featured. The one thing that irked me were the 84 pictures of Charles Phoenix himself that are in this book. Yep, I counted them. 84.

My husband saw Charles Phoenix when he did a presentation on Disneyland. Some of those clips are found in this book. It is colorful and fun as well as filled with interesting facts about American lifestyle. It is neat to see things from the past that no longer exists today.

Lovely book written with humour which goes well with his Facebook page. A lovely march through time.

As expected

Arrived very quickly. Great book.

Wonderful book with many photos and bits of information relating to mid century americana. A lot of stuff I didn't know existed was in this book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in americana. Great book.

Super Thema, klasse Bilder, mit persönlichem Touch. Super Geschenkempfehlung für Freunde der 50er Jahre und der USA im speziellen!