To begin with a point of clarification: 1982 was not a particularly monumental year for me culturally. True, I was a junior in college, and true, I met my wife (still the same wife today).
But culturally, 1982 was a between-time for me, a sort of shaded area of the Venn Diagram between late teen and early adulthood.

So, with that clarification out of the way, I have nothing but praise for Duncan L. Hayward’s Traveling to 1982: Reliving a Very Special Year. It is entertaining and meticulously researched. The format is engaging with photos, narrative, lists and charts. And even though 1982 was not a culturally significant year for me, I found myself remembering people and events that I had forgotten—more specifically forgotten that they occurred in that year. I also thoroughly enjoyed facts like the comparative prices of goods and services, and dollar figures associated with major motion pictures.

A reader in 2022, or in 40 more years from now, can open this book and view a snapshot of 1982 with particular details that are grounded in universal ideas and language. In truth, by the time I finished reading, the year 1982 had a little more significance in my life than I originally thought. And if I leave the past and cast my intuition futureward, I foresee Hayward taking readers on temporal journeys to other past years, some that will be milestone years for a variety of readers.

With real time travel remaining theoretically impossible—at least thus far— Hayward gets us pretty close to it.

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This was a fun little romp through the year 1982. It didn't feel super professional and more like a report done about the year. But that's not to say it wasn't an interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the cultural touchstones toward the end more than the crime portion at the beginning.

Took me back to 1982!

I don't always remember what I had for breakfast, but I just found out I remember nearly everything from 1982!
This book was very well put together, easy to read, and provided an outstanding look at life back in 1982.
The author cited many references, and also contrasted items like population, life expectancy, unemployment, etc... with life today.
If you grew up during this time or if you just appreciate history, you will enjoy going back in time while reading 1982. ( )

This book is 2.5 stars. The author commented that this is written as a gift book for a special birthday or anniversary, and in that respect, it fits the bill. It includes many events and data that I remember from that time period, though I was disappointed in that it didn't bring back more memories. It doesn't flow very well in my opinion and feels more like a student's report on the year. I received a PDF copy from the publisher as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer and I'm not sure it translated well to my kindle. Pictures weren't aligned and overall it felt amateurish. I think in keeping with the author's intent though, it would make a neat gift and therefore I'm giving it that extra half star. ( )

This was a fun litte, fact-filled book about the year 1982. This was very well researched and brought back a lot of memories about the year that my first child was born. Well done. ( )