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The Great Book of 1980s Trivia: Crazy Random Facts & 80s Trivia
Take a fantastical journey through the 1980s, as we uncover every riveting storyline that dominated the "decadent decade" Revisit, or explore for the first time, the big stories and the forgotten facts of ten fast-paced years that would reshape the world, and lay the foundation for the way we live today.
Discover the events that gripped the world through hijackings, bombings, and hostage standoffs, during a decade dominated by international terrorism. Read the stories of serial killers on the run, and military battles that transformed continents.
Follow Madonna and Michael Jackson as they took their awe-inspiring acts to the top of the charts, surrounded by a new MTV culture.
Take a joyride through a new age of cinema dominated by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and their endearing heroes. Go to battle with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and find out how Meryl Streep mesmerized audiences with six Oscar-nominated performances.
You will also find the answers to the following questions:
Why did President Reagan's would-be assassin put a bullet in his chest, and what "affair" discredited Reagan's administration? What prompted First Lady Nancy Reagan to ask America to "Just Say No"? What catastrophic event sidelined the U.S. Space program? What toys and video games made every child's wish list? Why did Time magazine stray from their annual "Person of the Year" to award the "Machine of the Year", and how did Bill Gates and Steve Jobs become international icons? How did Oprah and Geraldo Rivera build a daytime talk show empire? What made Bill Cosby a national icon and America's dad, long before the sex scandal that would completely derail him?
Discover the events that gripped the world through hijackings, bombings, and hostage standoffs, during a decade dominated by international terrorism. Read the stories of serial killers on the run, and military battles that transformed continents.
Follow Madonna and Michael Jackson as they took their awe-inspiring acts to the top of the charts, surrounded by a new MTV culture.
Take a joyride through a new age of cinema dominated by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and their endearing heroes. Go to battle with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and find out how Meryl Streep mesmerized audiences with six Oscar-nominated performances.
You will also find the answers to the following questions:
Why did President Reagan's would-be assassin put a bullet in his chest, and what "affair" discredited Reagan's administration? What prompted First Lady Nancy Reagan to ask America to "Just Say No"? What catastrophic event sidelined the U.S. Space program? What toys and video games made every child's wish list? Why did Time magazine stray from their annual "Person of the Year" to award the "Machine of the Year", and how did Bill Gates and Steve Jobs become international icons? How did Oprah and Geraldo Rivera build a daytime talk show empire? What made Bill Cosby a national icon and America's dad, long before the sex scandal that would completely derail him?
- GenresNonfictionHistoryTrivia
198 pages, Paperback
Published April 16, 2018
170 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 14, 2018
‘The government ran up the largest deficit in American history, the Berlin Wall collapses’ – and much more!
Author Bill O’Neill has authored many books on Trivia and stands as somewhat of an expert in this field! His topics include movies, football, baseball, wars, rock music and simply random trivia facts. This volume is THE GREAT BOOK OF 1980s TRIVIA: CRAZY RANDOM FACTS & 80s TRIVIA. To set the mood of the book Bill states, ‘On November 4, 1980, the United States chose for its leader, Ronald Reagan, who marched into the White House promising a smaller government, lower taxes, and less federal intrusion into people's lives. At the time, he was the oldest man ever to serve as president of the United States. Yet his smile and rugged good looks projected the youthfulness of his days in Hollywood when he was an actor. And when he spoke, his endearing voice and a familiar nod of his head soothed America, assuring the country that everything would be fine, even on its worst days, as he would relate stories to the public equipped with a moral value. It was the defining genius of Ronald Reagan to find tales of hope and optimism to sustain his vision of a brand-new America. His predecessor Jimmy Carter had spoken of limits and the obligation to sacrifice. However, Reagan rejected that notion. After two decades of troubles that included assassinations and urban riots, the agony of Vietnam and the disgrace of Watergate, energy crises and double-digit inflation, the nation was ready for Reagan's notion to "dream heroic dreams." Reagan's feel-good conservatism embodied the 1980s, which ushered in a restoration of pride and prosperity, but he had little concern for pressing social and economic problems, and Reagan's appealing surface simplicity concealed a multitude of contradictions. He championed a return to family values, though he was the first divorced president in U.S. history and was estranged from some of his children. He cultivated fundamentalist Christians of the new religious right, calling for "a spiritual revival, a return to a belief in moral absolutes," but seldom attended church’ And he goes on to remind s of American Greed, economic disparity and homelessness, drugs and AIDS the environment a, social issues and culture, and world politics.
The book is divided into each year of the 80s with the associated major events that occurred each year of that strange decade. Reading this book (and answering the test questions associated with each chapter) provides some fine reminiscing but also reminds us o the traumas we faced and survived.
Not only is the book entertaining – it is also very instructive for every reader. Have fun, learn, and be ready for the next gathering of very smart friends! You’ll be on top.
Author Bill O’Neill has authored many books on Trivia and stands as somewhat of an expert in this field! His topics include movies, football, baseball, wars, rock music and simply random trivia facts. This volume is THE GREAT BOOK OF 1980s TRIVIA: CRAZY RANDOM FACTS & 80s TRIVIA. To set the mood of the book Bill states, ‘On November 4, 1980, the United States chose for its leader, Ronald Reagan, who marched into the White House promising a smaller government, lower taxes, and less federal intrusion into people's lives. At the time, he was the oldest man ever to serve as president of the United States. Yet his smile and rugged good looks projected the youthfulness of his days in Hollywood when he was an actor. And when he spoke, his endearing voice and a familiar nod of his head soothed America, assuring the country that everything would be fine, even on its worst days, as he would relate stories to the public equipped with a moral value. It was the defining genius of Ronald Reagan to find tales of hope and optimism to sustain his vision of a brand-new America. His predecessor Jimmy Carter had spoken of limits and the obligation to sacrifice. However, Reagan rejected that notion. After two decades of troubles that included assassinations and urban riots, the agony of Vietnam and the disgrace of Watergate, energy crises and double-digit inflation, the nation was ready for Reagan's notion to "dream heroic dreams." Reagan's feel-good conservatism embodied the 1980s, which ushered in a restoration of pride and prosperity, but he had little concern for pressing social and economic problems, and Reagan's appealing surface simplicity concealed a multitude of contradictions. He championed a return to family values, though he was the first divorced president in U.S. history and was estranged from some of his children. He cultivated fundamentalist Christians of the new religious right, calling for "a spiritual revival, a return to a belief in moral absolutes," but seldom attended church’ And he goes on to remind s of American Greed, economic disparity and homelessness, drugs and AIDS the environment a, social issues and culture, and world politics.
The book is divided into each year of the 80s with the associated major events that occurred each year of that strange decade. Reading this book (and answering the test questions associated with each chapter) provides some fine reminiscing but also reminds us o the traumas we faced and survived.
Not only is the book entertaining – it is also very instructive for every reader. Have fun, learn, and be ready for the next gathering of very smart friends! You’ll be on top.
April 15, 2018
Being a child of the 1950’s I found this book to be quite intriguing as it deals with my favorite decade of my life, as both women and blacks had made breakthroughs when none had existed before. The state of Virginia elected Douglas Wilder as governor, retired US Army General Collin Powell became the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For women there was Sandra Day O’Connor – US Supreme Court, Sally Ride – first woman astronaut, and Geraldine Ferraro – Vice President candidate.
I loved the format in which the author, Bill O’Neill, has present this book in. Starting off by defining the major events which essentially defined the decade of the 1980’s before moving on to looking at it year by year. In looking at each year, the author begins by a brief discussion of 10 of that year’s major events followed by 20 random facts. While this brought back memories of these events, I enjoyed the 10 trivia questions at the end of each year, trivia questions which are sure to test the mental recall for his readers, as it did for me.
For giving his readers and myself a rememberable reading experience I’m giving this book and its author 5 STARS.
I loved the format in which the author, Bill O’Neill, has present this book in. Starting off by defining the major events which essentially defined the decade of the 1980’s before moving on to looking at it year by year. In looking at each year, the author begins by a brief discussion of 10 of that year’s major events followed by 20 random facts. While this brought back memories of these events, I enjoyed the 10 trivia questions at the end of each year, trivia questions which are sure to test the mental recall for his readers, as it did for me.
For giving his readers and myself a rememberable reading experience I’m giving this book and its author 5 STARS.
July 20, 2024
American based with some inaccuracies
Bite sized facts that focused on US history with some inaccuracies.
For example: he states that the pound ceased to be legal tender in the uk, when it is still our currency. He may have meant that the £ note ceased to be legal tender, but it is not written that way.
Read for brief facts, but research further to check some of them.
Bite sized facts that focused on US history with some inaccuracies.
For example: he states that the pound ceased to be legal tender in the uk, when it is still our currency. He may have meant that the £ note ceased to be legal tender, but it is not written that way.
Read for brief facts, but research further to check some of them.
August 13, 2018
The Great Book of 1980s Trivia: Crazy Random Facts & 80s Trivia (Trivia Bill's Nostalgic Trivia Books) by Bill O'Neill was a great read. It is a very thorough guide to what happened during the 1980s. I really enjoy all of Bill O’Neills trivia books and this one is no exception.
May 24, 2018
This was so much fun! I grew up in the eighties and it was fun to take this trip down memory lane. There was so much going on that I was too busy to pay attention to it all. Highly recommended!
May 28, 2018
80s trivia
Great 80s trivia. Some fun information and political. Trivia. I enjoyed this book of trivia it was fun and challenging
Great 80s trivia. Some fun information and political. Trivia. I enjoyed this book of trivia it was fun and challenging
January 19, 2019
Lame. It isn't formatted as expected or effectively.
November 4, 2019
Loved it!
The author of this book has collected a great amount of fun and interesting information about the 1980s. No boring parts enclosed!
The author of this book has collected a great amount of fun and interesting information about the 1980s. No boring parts enclosed!
August 18, 2021
Quick trip to the past
As a child of the 80s it was interesting to read about and remember past events and stories. Easy read for my between “starting a new series” read.
As a child of the 80s it was interesting to read about and remember past events and stories. Easy read for my between “starting a new series” read.
February 18, 2025
I liked it. I was too young so I don't realize the mistakes other readers noticed. It would have been great with some images.
June 30, 2022
Mementos of a decade
Articulate and succinct accounts of the most notable events of each year, I liked the format and content. Recommend for anyone interested in trivia and history.
Articulate and succinct accounts of the most notable events of each year, I liked the format and content. Recommend for anyone interested in trivia and history.
August 5, 2019
This is a fun book about the decade of the 1980's. It covers a load of events during that time including:
The Reagan Presidency.
Yuppies.
The growing gap between the rich and the poor. (Which has gotten worse.)
AIDs.
The murder of John Lennon.
The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
Fraggle Rock. (One of my favorite shows from that time.)
Personal computers. (My first was a TRS-80 with an astonishing 4K of memory!)
Pac-man.
Voyager 1 gets to Saturn. (Today it's totally out of our solar system.)
MTV. (Yes, at one time it was just music videos.)
Cagney and Lacey cop show. (Really good!)
Plus a load of other interesting topics.
The Reagan Presidency.
Yuppies.
The growing gap between the rich and the poor. (Which has gotten worse.)
AIDs.
The murder of John Lennon.
The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
Fraggle Rock. (One of my favorite shows from that time.)
Personal computers. (My first was a TRS-80 with an astonishing 4K of memory!)
Pac-man.
Voyager 1 gets to Saturn. (Today it's totally out of our solar system.)
MTV. (Yes, at one time it was just music videos.)
Cagney and Lacey cop show. (Really good!)
Plus a load of other interesting topics.
July 9, 2018
The Great Book of 1980s Trivia
: Bill O'Neill
It was an excellent chance to re-visit the 1980's. As I listened, it was like....."Yeah I remember that." I listened on my Ipod and when I gave the answers to the questions out loud, my husband looked at me like I was crazy! I loved it!!!
The narration was well done. Mike Alger's got this!!!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
: Bill O'Neill
It was an excellent chance to re-visit the 1980's. As I listened, it was like....."Yeah I remember that." I listened on my Ipod and when I gave the answers to the questions out loud, my husband looked at me like I was crazy! I loved it!!!
The narration was well done. Mike Alger's got this!!!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews