Newspaper Boys Always Deliver by Joseph Gulesserian : A Review

BOOK TITLE: Newspaper Boys Always Deliver

AUTHOR: Joseph Gulesserian

ISBN/ASIN: B01ATTOSEU

GENRE: Adult non-fiction / Pop Culture, Music and Technology Journey

NUMBER OF PAGES: 338

FORMAT: Digital

SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank Laura of iRead tours for this review copy!

SUMMARY:

A Personal Journey into Pop and Technological change in the last Fifty Years.

In Newspaper Boys Always Deliver, Gulesserian takes us on a captivating adventure by combining personal essays and historical insights for an enlightening look at how we got here, and the earlier inventions that paved the way for current cutting-edge technologies. While exploring pop-culture trends, unexpected impacts, and memorable moments in time, this collection of thought-provoking and humorous reflections paints a fascinating picture of the changes half a century can bring—and its implications for what could be just around the corner.

In just fifty years, Western culture has gone from culture to techno-culture—from the swinging sixties to rap, encyclopedia to Wikipedia, slide rule to artificial intelligence.

Newspaper Boys Always Deliver, shares a personal journey of how we got here, in a Book that delivers an eclectic plethora of knowledge, controversy and humorous entertainment in a newspaper format.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

Unique titles always grasp my attention and when coupled with a nice cover, the chances of me picking up the book (to read the summary maybe) remain high. Newspaper Boys Always Deliver is a book that fit both the initial criteria and the summary only added to the intrigue factor. I was offered a digital copy for review. Though I could not assume how it would seem like a paperback, the clean organisation of the book gave a newspaper effect and I started with high expectations.

REVIEW:

Born during a curious time when technology was at its boom, and having watched the almost complete shift between telephones to cell phones happen in what could be considered a short duration of less than a decade, any book about the era preceding mobile communication invokes a nostalgia in me. I started reading this book with similar expectations and though the initial few pages seemed to be what I expected, the book didn't quite get there.

First, let me tell what the book is:

It is a collection of essays, complete with pictures, organised by sections, giving the reader an experience similar to that of reading a well organised newspaper (albeit a big one). The book gives interesting insight into life during the time around the mid twentieth century. It has everything, the Moon Landing, the TV shows, and what not! The pictures are gems, from the archives and complement the article. It is divided into many major sections, People, Lifestyle, Art being a few of them.

The book is interesting, that much can be said. It will work for you if you like your facts from history and are prepared to read long paragraphs about how great life was back then. Written by someone who had lived the life of a Newspaper Boy in those times, the book has an 'insider' feel that is its major plus.

Now going on to why the book did not work well for me:

Though I liked the content, the tone in which the book was written was a huge no for me. There was something about the way the essays were presented that put me off continuous reading. While I appreciated what the book had, the overall impression that the golden period was beyond us and this era knew very little (though not given in as many direct words) didn't work for me. History books that glorify the past are okay. But those that demean the present and rue the lost glory aren't books that would attract me.

There is a feeling of having read a lot of information presented in a not-so-appealing manner. Though I did rush to read more on certain events given in the book, and picked up a dictionary for a few words (a habit I had quite forgotten).

A sample quote that pretty much sums up the book:

Newspapers today, as a last gasp, are experimenting with paywalls with limited or mixed success, as most were never global papers, and charging for their subscriptions to compete against the free information provided digitally is challenging, since a new generation gets its info on Vice, Digg, Twitter, Yahoo, MSN, Drudge, and the like. But sadly, much of what is expressed today in the digital media seems like a digital supermarket tabloid in various stages of desperation. Once upon a time, though, writers that were larger than life had expertise in their chosen areas, they entertained us as they tried to help us make sense out of everything around us.

That snippet is a sample from the book near its end and that gives an idea of how the book has been designed and phrased.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The articles and the pictures
• The title, summary and the overall newspaper like presentation
• The author having first hand experience in this adds credibility to the book.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• The tone of the book did not appeal to me
• The events and the way they are presented gets monotonous after a point of time
• Some strong opinions are expressed that contradict popular opinions.

VERDICT:

An interesting book, a slice from history.

RATING: 3/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Gulesserian came of age during the seventies, and was exposed to many changing technologies with a career that has ranged from metallurgic to manufacturing, from business equipment to information technology, and brand creation.

After earning his MBA, he taught Corporate Finance, Marketing and Statistics as an adjunct professor at Toronto colleges, and in 2000 established a Toronto-based company that designs and produces health and beauty brands for both domestic and international markets.

Currently, Gulesserian lives in Toronto with his wife.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle, Paperback

PRICE $5.83 for Kindle, $19.97 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: Amazon