Busted Boom

The Bummer Of Being A Boomer

Non-Fiction - Cultural
545 Pages
Reviewed on 05/11/2014
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Author Biography

Brian Paul Bach is a published writer, artist, filmmaker and traveler – in no particular order.

Additionally, and sometimes simultaneously, he has been a worker in the theatre, an academic library, and the music business. He is a student of film and its lore, a casual dramatic performer and voice impressionist, an appreciator of theatre architecture and operation, and an architectural writer.

Golden ages of film production, automotive design, and world architecture are of especial interest, as are music, social culture, and most things concerning the Indian subcontinent. As a youth he regularly read ‘Variety’, embraced teenage filmmaking, worked in fringe show business in Seattle, and later probed the filmic corners of Hollywood, London and India.

From these pursuits he has adopted cinematic thinking as a built-in facet of everyday life. As a young person he ran his own neighborhood theatre, for which he produced acts and short movies. He has been immersed in performance arts and associated activities all his life.

Accompanying these efforts has been an ever-present production of drawings, paintings photographs, videos and designs that have added up to a very personal statement of style and expression.

A retrospective exhibition of his multi-media works appeared at a local gallery in 2014, along with a companion volume, BPB'S ARTPOURING: A REPRESENTATIVE RETROSPECTIVE CATALOGUE (Goth House, 2014), lavishly illustrated, including commentary.

At home and abroad, independent exploration has always been part of Bach’s milieu. Living for periods in Europe and Asia, as well as along the west coast of the US, the exposure to cultures, societies, physical environments, and life itself within such diversity has brought with it an expansion of outlooks, the promise of understanding, and a fulfillment through the riches encountered. His artistic response has been appropriately wide-reaching and purposeful.

In a more specific context, from this mixture, Bach has observed his own generation’s behavior, its choices and outlooks, its deeds and its misdeeds, its players and its followers, all with the attentive eye of an artist and the critical force of a fellow traveler.

Thus, BUSTED BOOM: THE BUMMER OF BEING A BOOMER is a logical outcome from a writer with a passion for exploring the culture and mindsets with which he grew up. Consequently, he now questions them with a unique perception, as sincere as it is trenchant.

Bach’s published works, illustrated with his photos, drawings, and maps, include: THE GRAND TRUNK ROAD FROM THE FRONT SEAT, in two editions, (HarperCollins 1993 and 2000) – the Author’s travels from Calcutta to the Afghan frontier; and CALCUTTA’S EDIFICE: THE BUILDINGS OF A GREAT CITY, (Rupa & Co. 2006) - a major examination of this under-known city’s architecture and culture in over 700 pages, with almost as many illustrations. In numerous libraries worldwide, the book has been presented to two successive Chief Ministers of West Bengal state, at the 2006 and 2012 Calcutta Book Fairs, the latter attended by the Author.

Soon to become available through Goth House, are Bach’s works of fiction: FORWARD TO GLORY, a four-part ‘epic noir satire’ that charts the rise of an actor from obscurity to the biggest stardom in the world, and LURID, a thriller set in Calcutta, in which the city is threatened with total destruction by an ancient demonic force. An epistolary novelette, CONFESSIONS IN THE GLOW OF A NEW MOON, deals with a group of eccentrics on a canal boat in southern India, 1905. Further works are in progress, such as THE ELECTRIC PUNKAH a large collection of short stories with South Asian settings and subjects, and CARSTAIRS or, FINITE AGONY: A NOVEL OF 1975, which links (and eviscerates) the worlds of used cars, radio, and the theatre.

He lives with his wife Sandra, an accomplished ceramicist and chef, faithful hound Hugo, and independent cat Perry in central Washington State, USA.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Katelyn Hensel for Readers' Favorite

Baby Boomers: they are everywhere. This dynamic and HUGE generation is dominating the current workforce and they are in positions of influence in political and economic spheres across the United States. It is this influx of knowledge and influence that gets a thorough examination in Busted Boom: The Bummer of Being a Boomer. This analytical and historical text from author Brian Paul Bach looks into the cultural perceptions and stereotypes regarding Boomers and reflects on the diverse and influential nature of the group through the eyes of a member because, yes, Bach is indeed a member of the Boomer generation as well. Love them or hate them, the Baby Boom generation has deep resonating influences on the world today, and Bach forces us to look at the directions that the world has taken under their influence.

Perhaps harshly critical in some ways, Busted Boom: The Bummer Of Being A Boomer is a very personal text that takes a hard stance on how boomers have made changes, both good and bad, on American society. I enjoyed the real togetherness of Bach's points and it is clear that personal experience as well as definite research went into the development of this text. A very strong book in its field, virtually no aspect of Boomer personality is left untouched as we get a peek into the social, political, and cultural ideals behind the generation and in an almost funny way. A very entertaining read, and I definitely feel like I've come away with a fuller head of knowledge than when I began.