Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Nineties

By: Chuck Klosterman
Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman, Dion Graham
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.25

Buy for $20.25

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times bestseller!

“Informative, endlessly entertaining.”—
BuzzFeed

“Generation X’s definitive chronicler of culture.”—
GQ

From the author of
But What If We’re Wrong comes an insightful, funny reckoning with a pivotal decade

It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. Landlines fell to cell phones, the internet exploded, and pop culture accelerated without the aid of technology that remembered everything. It was the last era with a real mainstream to either identify with or oppose. The ’90s brought about a revolution in the human condition, and a shift in consciousness, that we’re still struggling to understand. Happily, Chuck Klosterman is more than up to the job.

In The Nineties, Klosterman dissects the film, the music, the sports, the TV, the pre-9/11 politics, the changes regarding race and class and sexuality, the yin/yang of Oprah and Alan Greenspan, and (almost) everything else. The result is a multidimensional masterpiece, a work of synthesis so smart and delightful that future historians might well refer to this entire period as Klostermanian.

©2022 Chuck Klosterman (P)2022 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“In The Nineties, Klosterman examines the social, political and cultural history of the era with his signature wit. It’s a fascinating trip down memory lane.” Time

“Always an astute cultural observer and a fan of deep dives into any subject, Klosterman is focused here on a decade in American life that he says is often portrayed as ‘a low-risk grunge cartoon’ . . . Klosterman’s gift is seizing on those moments that any Gen Xer can readily recall and pulling the strings a bit to put it in some kind of historical perspective.” —Associated Press

“Serving up the moments and meanings of a modern decade in a few hundred pages is no easy task, but Chuck Klosterman has managed to boil a hearty stew of insight. . . . [Klosterman is] a master of smooth setups and downbeat finishes.” USA Today

Featured Article: Best of the Year—The 12 Best Nonfiction Listens of 2022


In another year of portentous headlines and global concerns, nonfiction writers responded with bold ideas for change at every level, from the intimate and individual to the interspecies and universal. In their own impassioned voices or supported by top-notch performers, these diverse creators awed us with timely takes on everything from science and technology to life, death, and the human butt. Their titles took a backseat to no one in 2022.

What listeners say about The Nineties

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,342
  • 4 Stars
    378
  • 3 Stars
    143
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    24
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,238
  • 4 Stars
    288
  • 3 Stars
    95
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    19
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,151
  • 4 Stars
    334
  • 3 Stars
    113
  • 2 Stars
    30
  • 1 Stars
    23

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great review by Klosterman

I tend to enjoy Chuck Klosterman as a critic, not as a novelist, and I think this was him operating at his best. Really enjoyed how seamless it was to go from topic to topic throughout the decade. Wasn't a boring, chronological rehash. Born in 1992, and was glad to read it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

More ruminations from a Gen-X expert

I've been reading Chuck Klosterman's stuff for many years now and he never disappoints. The Nineties is no different. It's the decade he was born to write about. Klosterman is a master of nuamce, taking fine points of culture and expounding on them. Sometimes I agree and so!stones his opinions are far afield from my own, but he's always interesting. I especially enjoy his writings on music. It's always gun to read his thoughts on two of my favorites; Billy Joel and KISS. If you're A Gen-X'er or just like reading about popular culture then pick this one up. It's wide ranging themes won't let you down.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly intellectual

I was expecting kitsch, trivia, and one-off personal experience stories. Essentially, what he points out was the 90s experience of the 70s. I assumed I'd listen to 1 essay in between doing other more interesting tasks. I did not expect this in depth analysis or to binge the whole book.

Being gen-x, of course I find this time interesting because it was *my* time. So I can't pretend I'm able to be completely objective. I'm sure an in depth analysis of the years anyone was in high school and college will resonate with them. However, I think it is fair to point out how pivotal this decade was between the pre and post internet and smart phone worlds. This feels relevant irrespective of the reader's/listener's age.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

In depth review of the decade

I really enjoyed listening to this in-depth review of a decade I'm a bit nostalgic for. All of the highlights were covered with background on how the people of the time viewed the events. I liked the juxtaposition of the feeling of the 90s with how those same events are viewed today, or how they would have been viewed 20 years earlier. Overall, it was a fun look back in time at a seemingly less complicated decade.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Modern history at its best

A wonderful blend of history, analysis, philosophy, humor, and reflection.

I cannot recommend this reading highly enough. It was a joy to listen to and I’m sad it had to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Original in approach

Very much enjoyed this take! Truly captures the zeitgeist of the nineties from not only a nostalgic cultural perspective, with some politics that mainly are reviewed from a cultural lens, but also a holistic philosophical assessment of a time after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the twin towers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

5 Stars

The Book Chuck was born to write! Good to hear him narrate it too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nostalgic and Eye Opening

Some chapters are more interesting than others but that might be my own personal bias towards my own memories. Nevertheless it captures the 90s well and presents some great facts and analyses.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Chuck is the premiere commentator of our times.

This book is essential if you came of age in the 1990s, or just need a deep dive on all the way points.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

what a ride!

what a nostalgia trip this was. gave a lot of interesting perspectives, was generally cohesive. I really enjoyed this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!