Well, I can't do anything about the English language part!
A book like TBM could not have been done in the mid '80s when there were a lot more fans. Personally I'd call a lot of these people from that time trendies, rather than true fans. Matter of fact, I recently bumped into a couple of girls who used to go to NYC to see groups like the Chesterfield Kings, Vipers, etc. After speaking with them for just two minutes, I could feel that they had "mom'd out" ,with their lifestyles and enjoyment of things which are vastly generic.
I told them my musical tastes have evolved (more diverse '50s '60s material and '70s stuff) but I still find the '60s teenaged rock & roll sounds to be my favorite genre of all. They couldn't understand why I would still be routinely listening to songs they first heard on Pebbles comps. To these girls, their memories of having been involved in a (then) active underground revival scene with friends is what keys this music - the music itself doesn't stand on it's own accord to them. It is the same example with everyday people who choose to listen to familiar "oldies but goodies", overplayed hit songs which invoke lost days of their youth - malt shop memories.
The other reason why a publishedTBM would have been a wasted effort in the '80s, (or even in 1996, when I was going to have it published by now defunct Popular Culture Ink - thank God that fell thru!) - the amount of time it took to research recordings, track groups, and all else required a self-sacrifice and high standard. I'm not saying that other people didn't possess such qualities, but most of the collectors I know did not want to even think about trying to start a project like this. Greg Shaw soon realized he'd never get a handle on the scope of the task at hand, something we discussed via e-mails when I was getting started. He quickly realized that doing a book which just recycled directly from other sources was not gonna be a worthy effort. Then you had people like Tom Tourville. I've never met the man, but his books, cranked out cheaply on a photocopy machine, were examples of how NOT to do a book on the subject. Right idea, but he didn't know how to do research and validate his information. Printing unsubstantiated "heresay" was, and still is the lazy man method of publishing information that will be referenced by the readership.
If we had the internet of today 20 years ago, well, then it would be different game entirely. It took 30 years or more after the '60s ended just to sort thru the tens of thousands of local and regional uncharted records that were made. It also took hundreds of comps to spread the word, alongside other folks' putting out their regional oriented music fanzines. It was the whirling wheel, trying to round up like minded individuals to help the cause, and initiate neophytes into the mix. The time WAS ripe for a detailed reference book in the early to mid 80s, purely from a sales potential perspective, but it also was impossible at the time to accomplish. I know that better than anyone!
$100 in today's 2011 year world is quite reasonable, I think, for a work of this caliber. Possibly too cheap, based on reference oriented books I've seen published elsewhere. But it isn't my intention to to price out the average fan or curious type who would find the subject of interest.
The book sets a very high standard which I truly believe will not ever be matched for this musical genre, or any other genre for that matter. The worldwide economy for the vast majority of the population is still swimming in the toilet, as I know from still trying to find a decent paying job, and people might not have the $$$ to spend at the time the book is ready to sell. On the other hand, I have firm confirmations from several individuals who will purchase 2 or 3 copies.
