The Golden Girls: A Cultural History is what the title suggests, sort of. It includes a brief history of the show, touching on the cultural context surrounding the show. However, it's very brief, and at times seems like the author's personal examination of her relationship with the show. It's unclear who the intended audience is, because some passages seem like they're written for children while the language is clearly for adult readers. It also feels extremely tied to the time when it was written, often using language that already feels dated.

As a longtime fan of The Golden Girls, this was a fun look at the inner workings, actors, and characters of the television series. I enjoyed the deeper look at each of the characters and some of the iconic episodes. I highly recommend this book to any fan of the show or anyone who enjoys reading about television or show business in general.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

Growing up, I remember my grandmother and great grandmother always having the Golden Girls on television whenever possible. While it never really clicked with me then, as I get older, I can definitely see the appeal.

So when I saw this book up for review, I had to have it!

Overall, I learned some new information about the show, but the book itself feels repetitive and could use some more editing to streamline the information.

Overall, 3/5 stars, and something any GG fan would appreciate a read through.

As much as I love The Golden Girls, I had a hard time slogging through this book for some reason. After reflecting, I think it was the repetition and redudancy of the information presented by the author. I think that with some editing, this could have been a better read, but always fun to re-visit these ladies!

I have been a huge fan of the Golden Girls from the time I was a kid, watching new episodes weekly with my family. And as decades have passed, I can continually go back to the show for comfort and laughs. This book hit the spot for all of my Golden Girls nostalgia. I loved revisiting episodes and finding out even more information about the behind the scenes.
My only criticism of the book was that it became repetitive not in the content but in the actual sentences. If a section is being written about the top episodes of a character, the writer does not need to say "that is why this is one of x-characters best episodes" (paraphrasing) after each episode.

I am a huge fan of The Golden Girls, so when I saw this book I knew I had to pick it up. I already knew that this show covered covered a lot of controversial topics especially for its time period, but I guess I din't realize how much of a cultural effect it has had.

The Golden Girls is a show about four hilarious older women who are all single (widowed or divorced living together in a home in Miami, Florida. Blanche is the outgoing roommate. She dates a lot of men during it's seven seasons and her behavior is never made out to be wrong. Rose is the quirky, odd roommate. She endlessly recounts absurd, lengthly stories of her hometown and sometimes does some crazy things that make you love her character so much. Dorthy and her mother Sophia are a comedy duo in their own right. Sophia has a sarcastic comment for everything and everyone. Dorthy is the level headed one of the bunch but also faces her own problems through the run of the show.

This book highlights all the amazing reasons why you should definitely watch this show and it's cultural effect on television. The Golden Girls covered topics such as AIDS, same sex attraction, suicide, and many more which were scarcely talked about let alone presented on television at that time. They did so much more than I ever realized on this show and I'm so glad I got a chance to read this book.

If you are a fan of The Golden Girls or trying to decide whether to watch it, I highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC of The Golden Girls. I loved revisiting with Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia and enjoyed a little bit of their history both as actors and characters. A quick and delightful book by Bernadette Giacomazzo. Gotta love those ladies.

Golden Girls is a TV Series that has moved into our Media Culture and Daily Life. It is beloved by millions and this book brings to life the story of those who brilliantly portrayed some of our favourite characters of all time. A must read for all fans.

This was such an insightful and heartwarming exploration of how a beloved television show forever altered society's view on aging and friendship. Through its captivating narrative, the book sheds light on how this iconic sitcom not only brought laughter into our living rooms but also sparked a transformation in our understanding of aging and camaraderie. I have always been a huge fan of the show so I had to read this! I enjoyed it so much and I highly recommend for fans of the show to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, quick read about The Golden Girls and their cultural impact. The book dives into how the show changed people’s views on elderly women, and lead them to see older women as more well rounded, instead of just someone’s grandmother. The show also tackled very tough topics such as sexuality, AIDS, interracial relationships, and many more tough topics. I thought the author did a good job at showing how The Golden Girls really went against the grain of the conservative 1980’s, and spoke out against harmful stereotypes and views. I enjoyed reading this one.

If you're a fan of The Golden Girls (and who isn't) this will give you a little more background on the show and each of the characters. A fun read and a good reflection on those times.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's golden!

I enjoyed learning the parallels between the show and the culture of the time. While I always knew the Golden Girls was a show that did not shy away from a topic, I found it interesting to see specific examples of how it pushed back against the conservative narrative of the time. I did find the writing to be redundant at times and in need of a little editing.

I've always been a fan of the Golden Girls and thanks to the constant reruns showing, I could visualize every episode talked about in this book. The show was one of the absolute best comedies ever (I still laugh at them no matter how many times I've seen them) and it was fascinating to go behind the scenes with this book. The author researched the subject well and gave some interesting insights. Any fan of the show would enjoy this book

I was excited to read this as a long time fan of the Golden Girls and the actresses of the show. Like most Gen X'ers I watched this with my grandmother and mother in the late 80s and early 90s. I've watched the show several times since then on various streaming platforms. It is definitely a comfort show for me when I want some good laughs. The show ran for 7 years and was well known as a ground breaker for the way it depicted women in their 60s and older.

I came into this book having seen the show multiple times from start to finish and was very pleasantly surprised to learn so much more than I knew about the lore of the show. It delved deep into the 4 main characters and gave a lot of background on a lot of episodes in the show. It even talked a bit about the actresses themselves and gave a little bit of history on each.

I did feel the writing could have been better. It felt the author was using 20 words in the place of one, and was repeating a lot of info or opinions, almost as if she were just trying to reach a certain word count. This book has the potential to be so much more but the repetition of information made it a bit lackluster.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of the E-book in exchange for an honest review.

The Golden Girls: A Cultural History is an informative and entertaining read about America’s favorite girls. Though I was familiar with some Golden Girls lore prior to reading this, this book went in depth on the cast as well as the cultural significance and impact of the Golden Girls. I left the book learning a lot about history - both political and theatrical and how both interweaved - as well as the actors themselves. The actors - like their fictional counterparts - were truly ahead of their time, advocating for LGBTQ rights as well as those afflicted with AIDS. They were also animal lovers and activists. Class acts through and through.

I first watched Golden Girls as a child with my grandmother. I then rediscovered it in college when it was rerun on the Lifetime network. Now as an adult I fall asleep to the familiar sounds of Sophia, Rose, Blanche, and Dorothy every night (thanks Hallmark!). I know the characters and episodes very well so it was a treat recounting some of these moments in the highlighted episodes in the book.

If I were to give some feedback, it would echo the sentiments of other reviewers. There were some repetitious turns of phrase used that took away from the narrative. Also, a lot of the book is more opinion-based than actual facts (who decided these were the best episodes of the 180?). I also would have liked to have read more episode quotes. As the author recounted her favorite character episodes I was excited waiting to read my favorite line only not to see it. While I understand the book wasn’t exhaustive, some of the best lines were left out in my opinion (“So am I! So is Blanche!” anyone? What about Mr. Pah-fieffer?)

The pros outweigh the cons though and this book is truly necessary for Golden Girls fans. It gives a new perspective I’ll be happy to have when watching the episodes again.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I love a good history of a specific topic, and the Golden Girls is obviously a favorite show of mine. The problem being I watched it well after it was off-air, so many of the contexts to which it was speaking were histories I was unfamiliar with. This was a good enough description of the events around it, but I could have gone for something a little broader, something I rarely say. While the anecdotes were great, I guess I was looking for more of a social history.

***Thank you for the ARC!***

I loved this book. This isn’t a “the making of…” type of book; it examines how the show looked at various social issues. As a consequence, it also shows how ahead of its time that the show was. The historical context is excellent. And since I loved the show when it was on, this book was a great trip down memory lane. This is a feel-good book and I think that anyone who liked the show will like the book. Thank you NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Framed by the death of Betty White, I enjoyed the idea of this book. The Golden Girls is such an iconic series that lends itself to many takes and discussions. I found this book to fall flat. There was nothing that a fan of the show would not already know in the book, as no new information or facts were really discussed. The organization and flow also did not really work for me. I found myself at the end of the book asking, why was this written? Putting a modern take on the show and highlighting positive episodes in the run of the series was nothing that could not be done via an online blog post and therefore I did not really see a point to this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers and Bernadette Giacomazzo for the copy of this book.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book because I adore the Golden Girls. I have great memories watching the show with my aunt for hours on end and still watch the reruns at times. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much. I am not sure where the book is in the edit process but the Introduction needs a lot of editing. The same information was basically repeated three times. Most of the information presented is a summary of each character and the author reveals her favorite 10 episodes for each character. The author does go in depth to explore the mother daughter relationship between Dorothy and Sophia as well. The book also discusses several episodes of the show in which topics were "before their time" such as gay marriage, artificial insemination, assisted suicide, AIDS and racism.

Although several times throughout the book I was excited to briefly relive the episodes I have seen and loved, it was a struggle to get through the book. I am disappointment is was not more fun. I thought it would be an absolute blast to read. I am happy it was a short book.

Born out of a comedy sketch that at best sounded rather trite and tired, "The Golden Girls" became not just a hit tv show but an icon of sorts. I've read a bit on the series, most recently Marissa DeAngelis' "The Binge Watcher's Guide to the Golden Girls", so I will admit up front to already being familiar with much of the info shared here. Despite this and some repetition, I found it an interesting read. The author also supports her conclusions and information shares with extensive references and notes.

I won't belabor what is in the book as the blurb does a good job of that, but will say that I enjoyed the extensive look at each actress/character and how their background, both personal and work related, played into their role. Although I watched the show, I was never an obsessive fan, so must admit some of her takes made me go, "Hmm, how did I miss that?" Like the four actresses who portrayed them, the characters are shown to be anything but one-dimensional. Looking back, especially with some of the venom shared concerning controversial issues today, it's rather amazing to think how well the show's writers tackled issues still controversial today. I'll note that the four women didn't just mouth their support for causes, they walked the talk, too, which the book goes into. Rock Hudson even gets a mention.

Overall, while hardly ground breaking, the book does an admirable job diving into not just the show, including the author's chosen best episodes, but where each character fit into the whole picture. More importantly, it not only gave a voice to senior women, often making their way on their own, but emphasized that a chosen family can be just as vital as a biologic one. No matter what their race, sexuality, or beliefs, that everyone deserves love and friendship. That's the message I got from the book and I thank #NetGalley and #Rowman&Littlefield for allowing me to indulge in a bit of important nostalgia for a bit. Heck, it gives us a good look at society as a whole and how it has not just evolved but how the media played a role.