Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era

The definitive history of Friends, from the spark of and idea, all the way through the current day and the lingering fandom.

I read “I’ll Be There For You” last year, but I remember that book as being quite strongly about the social justice aspects of the show. This book touches on some of those issues as well, but it’s mainly a detailed, comprehensive history of the show, from start to finish.

It does spend weird lengths detailing various plots. In some places, I felt like I was reading pages and pages of plot summary. But it goes to lengths to psycho-analyze the characters, and what they meant to us, the viewers, over time.

It’s quite sentimental in places. As a Friends super-fan, I loved every page and devoured it in three sittings over just about 24 hours.