Friday, January 1, 2010

Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By (Hardcover)


Thanks to advancing technology and shifting mores, the amount of change we experience in our lifetimes is truly exceptional. Objects and practices that are commonplace can very quickly become outmoded. In this witty and informative collection of short essays, journalist and social commentator Anna Jane Grossman takes a thoughtful look at what everyday apparatuses, ideas, and behaviors are quickly disappearing—or else have already left the building.

Obsolete contains essays and entries on more than 100 alphabetized fading subjects, including blind dates, mix tapes, getting lost, looking old, operators, camera film, hitchhiking, writing letters, basketball players in short shorts, privacy, cash, and, yes, books. This ode to obsolescence also includes 25 quirky pen-and-ink line illustrations to further help us remember exactly what we’re missing.

Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us Byis on sale for just $10.85. You save $5.10.