Historical fiction is wonderful when a skilled author can truly capture the flavor of an era, whether it is the mannered elegance of Jane Austen's Regency period or the drama and adventure of the Vikings. To be truly authentic, historical fiction requires meticulous research and often the options are overwhelming. Here are five research titles to discover the world of the 1980s.

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang

With hip-hop culture reaching the mainstream in the 1980s, this is the definitive history of the birth of hip-hop and the cultural wave that changed popular music for decades to come. With an introduction by D.J. Kool Herc, the founder of hip-hop, Chang delves into how the post civil rights era and the dissatisfaction of the youth in the 1970s spawned a generation-defining movement, growing from deindustrialization to becoming a global multi-cultural phenomenon that transformed American politics and culture. Filled with original interviews from DJs, b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip-hop's forebears, founders, and mavericks, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, Can't Stop Won't Stop chronicles the events that marked the hip-hop generation's rise from the ashes of the '60s into the new millennium.

Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?: The Lost Toys, Tastes, and Trends of the 70s and 80s by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper and Brian Bellmont

A nostalgic trip to many of the once popular items that ruled the decade, Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops is a great source to really nail the pop culture aspect of any author's novel. From Marathon candy bars, to Schoolhouse Rock!, and The Six Million Dollar Man, Cooper and Bellmont ensure that you will be giving your readers an authentic experience.

And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, 20th-Anniversary Edition by Randy Shilts

First publication twenty years ago, And The Band Played On is a searing work of investigative reporting. Shilts exposes why AIDS was allowed to spread unchecked during the early '80s and changed how AIDS was discussed in the following years. Chronicling the first five years of the AIDS epidemic, Shilts is critical of the medical and scientific communities' initial response and particularly harsh on the Reagan Administration. And The Band Played On, with its reference to the sinking of the Titanic, is the definitive story of its beginnings.

New York Times: The Times of the Eighties: The Culture, Politics, and Personalities that Shaped the Decade by William Grimes

An in-depth examination of the news, culture, and personalities of the 1980s, as told through hundreds of hand selected articles and original commentary. Filled with more than 200 articles from The New York Times editor and Times writer William Grimes to create one complete historical collection. Organized by sections from politics, business, science and health, to sports, arts and entertainment, The Times of the Eighties covers the biggest stories that shaped the 1980s. Each story is filled with commentary to put each article in its historical context and explores the impact that these events and individuals eventually had on the future.

Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explains the World We Live in Now--Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything by David Sirota

In a wide-ranging yet entertaining book, journalist David Sirota takes readers on a ride back in time to reveal how so many of our present day conflicts are rooted in the larger-than-life pop culture of the 1980s. Perfect for authors who want to create timely but in-depth historical work.