September 11 in Popular Culture

"Life as it had been prior to 9/11 seemed, at least momentarily, no longer possible to ordinary Americans," begins this guide, setting forth an idea reflected back at us in popular culture through every medium of communication. Covering seven different areas of American life (Everyday Life, News and Information, Books, TV, Film, Music, and Visual Culture), this reference chronicles the impact of 9/11 in popular expression. The fear and uncertainty following that day left us wondering about our current lives, country, and relationships, and short essays within the chapters highlight responses in songs, books, and TV shows such as Sesame Street, Green Day's American Idiot, and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. An index grants access to the topics within while a selected 9/11 print and multimedia bibliography and a "Further Reading" guide pave the way toward an expanded view of this cultural memory tragedy. BOTTOM LINE Two similar publications cover essentially the same topics and may be of interest to libraries considering this title: Jeff Birkenstein and others'Reframing 9/11: Film, Popular Culture and the "War on Terror" (Continuum, 2010) and Matthew J. Morgan and Rory Stewart's The Impact of 9/11 on the Media, Arts, and Entertainment: The Day That Changed Everything? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). With the upcoming tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this guide is suggested for midsized and larger public libraries, middle grade to high school libraries, and academic popular collections.—Laverne Mann, Piscataway P.L., NJ