Published: July 01, 2009 08:06 am      

Entertainment Picks (July 3, 2009)

3 Things to check out this weekend

The Garth Factor

By Patsi Bale Cox

Hardcover, 335 pages $24.99

Amazon 1599950995



The unprecedented country music boom of the 1990s was largely the result of the impact of Garth Brooks, a transplanted Okie whose success in Nashville changed the game plan—and opened up the playing field—for every record company in town. This solid exploration of his superstardom is also an insider’s glimpse into a music industry blissfully basking in Garth’s white-hot glow while wondering just how to capture his brand of lightning in a bottle.

—Neil Pond, American Profile



The Glorious Fourth of July

By Diane C. Arkins

Hardcover, 128 pages ($19.95)

Amazon 1589806115



The red-white-and-blue spirit of Independence Day past is captured in this collection of retro fireworks packaging, posters, postcards, parade decorations and party favors from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And if you’re itching to pitch a stars-and-stripes party of your own, there’s also a roundup of vintage menu suggestions, games, poems and other suggestions for celebrating the Fourth of July with a festive, old-fashioned bang.

—Neil Pond, American Profile



Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960, Vol. 1

DVD ($26.98)

Amazon B001QU880M



Children today don’t remember when Saturday mornings were blissful blocks of back-to-back cartoons, an oasis of merriment at the end of a week revolving around schoolwork and grown-ups. But baby boomers certainly recall it—and will love the fond memories sparked by this five-hour collection of 33 Saturday-morning ‘toons, including “Top Cat,” “Quick Draw McGraw,” “The Jetsons,” “Secret Squirrel,” “Magilla Gorilla” and numerous lesser-known weekend characters, such as Marine Boy, Ricochet Rabbitt and Punkin’ Puss.

—Neil Pond, American Profile