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The finest kind of pop-cultural narrative history: inquisitive, discerning, surprising, thoughtful, informative, and lively; underpinned but not weighed down by its serious intent; and written with a storyteller’s verve, a journalist’s skepticism, a critic’s astuteness, and a fan’s loving eye.
— Michael Chabon
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The masterful Williams spins a story that spans continents and eras, and takes readers on a page-turning ride encompassing intoxicating youthful romance, forbidden wartime love, betrayal, espionage, life-eroding secrets, and a mother’s boundless love for her child. Reminding us of the interconnectivity of the past and present and the enduring power of love, Husbands & Lovers is stunning.
— Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Personal Librarian
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Revelatory, insightful, precise, dark, and wildly entertaining, Emily Nussbaum’s examination of reality television—starting before the term even existed—is also a radical reframing of the entire history of TV. Spanning seventy-five years, it’s a thrilling alt-timeline of television as escapism and horror show, as funhouse mirror and forensic dissection, as aspiration and nightmare. This is thrilling and essential cultural analysis.
— Mark Harris, author of Pictures at a Revolution
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The finest kind of pop-cultural narrative history: inquisitive, discerning, surprising, thoughtful, informative, and lively; underpinned but not weighed down by its serious intent; and written with a storyteller’s verve, a journalist’s skepticism, a critic’s astuteness, and a fan’s loving eye.
— Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
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Emily Nussbaum is an extraordinary navigator—she makes her way through the wilds of ‘dirty documentary’ with grace, humor, and an unerring sense of direction. As the first history of a phenomenon too few take seriously, Cue the Sun! is a blast to read whether you’re a fan of the reality genre or not.
— Ann Powers, author of Traveling
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Revelatory, insightful, precise, dark, and wildly entertaining, Emily Nussbaum’s examination of reality television—starting before the term even existed—is also a radical reframing of the entire history of TV. Spanning seventy-five years, it’s a thrilling alt-timeline of television as escapism and horror show, as funhouse mirror and forensic dissection, as aspiration and nightmare. This is essential cultural analysis.
— Mark Harris, author of Pictures at a Revolution
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One of our greatest critics delivers the definitive history of reality TV with insight, passion, and wit. Cue the Sun! ingeniously makes the creators and producers even more fascinating than the onscreen stars. Some are pirates, shameless looters of culture; others are bold pioneers in our generation’s great uncontrolled social experiment. In Nussbaum's hands, the TV revolution comes brilliantly alive.
— Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road
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It’s rare for a book to feel alive, but this one does. It brims with wonder and wit, with backstage drama and genuine pathos. Nussbaum shows that behind the lens of reality TV lies the most fascinating reality of all.
— David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon
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Only Emily Nussbaum could get me to read, and love, a book about reality TV rather than just watching it. Cue the Sun! somehow manages to be incredibly fun while taking its subject seriously. It is the definitive exploration of the only good and important genre of television. I’m calling it: Emily Nussbaum is the only reality TV judge who matters *bangs gavel*.
— Samantha Irby, author of Wow, No Thank You
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One of our greatest critics delivers the definitive history of reality TV with insight, passion, and wit. Cue the Sun! ingeniously makes the creators and producers even more fascinating than the onscreen stars. Some are pirates, shameless looters of culture; others are bold pioneers in our generation’s great uncontrolled social experiment. In Nussbaum’s hands, the TV revolution blinks into vivid clarity.
— Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road
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In this boisterous chronicle, Nussbaum charts unscripted television's evolution . . . Detailed interviews with cast, crew, and producers provide juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits . . . It’s a rowdy and unsettling look at how reality conquered television . . . shocking.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
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In this boisterous chronicle, Nussbaum charts unscripted television’s evolution. . . . Detailed interviews with cast, crew, and producers provide juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits . . . It’s a rowdy and unsettling look at how reality conquered television. . . . Shocking.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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Every so often there’s a nonfiction title I covet like it’s the next installment in my favorite mystery series. This summer it’s Cue the Sun! It combines the appeal of a page-turning thriller and the heft of serious scholarship. Juicy and thoughtful, it’s a must-read for anyone interested in television or popular culture.
— Carole V. Bell, NPR
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One of our greatest critics delivers the definitive history of reality TV with insight, passion, and wit. Cue the Sun! ingeniously makes the creators and producers even more fascinating than the onscreen stars.
— Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road
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Reality television may be ubiquitous, but it’s not new, as the New Yorker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Nussbaum illustrates in this fine book . . . Whether fans of the genre or not, readers will enjoy this deep dive into a format that, for better or worse, is here to stay.
— Booklist
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Nussbaum, as always, makes her case for the seriousness of her subject simply by taking it seriously . . . drawing on hundreds of interviews with producers, filmmakers, and on-screen talent . . . [she] writes with a keen sense of the genre’s manipulations.
— The New Republic
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Only Emily Nussbaum could get me to read, and love, a book about reality TV rather than just watching it. Cue the Sun! somehow manages to be incredibly fun while taking its subject seriously.
— Samantha Irby, author of Wow, No Thank You
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In this boisterous chronicle, Nussbaum charts unscripted television’s evolution. . . . It’s a rowdy and unsettling look at how reality conquered television.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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Reality television may be ubiquitous, but it’s not new, as the New Yorker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Nussbaum illustrates in this fine book . . .
— Booklist
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