Strong writing but relies on the same structures a bit too frequently ("it was, until it wasn't") which gets a touch grating by the end. It at once feels too short and too long. It concerns itself with mass media primarily, giving us pages and pages about sports, music, movies, politics, and news. There's a section about the internet and telecommunications, but it's limited. I like it for what it is, but I would have liked a book that picked one of those sub topics and went into greater depth better.

One thing that really works in this book's favor is the use of data. To his credit, Klosterman frequently challenges his own perceptions with polls, tv ratings, sales figures and other measurements and shows his work when they disagree with what would seem to be his initial guesses.