Punk: The Illustrated History of a Music Revolution

By Adrian Boot and Chris Salewicz
Studio Books
ISBN: 0140260986
Copyright Date: 01/01/97
Type: Paperback: 157 pages
Size: 10.0 x 10.2 inches
Price: 16.99 pounds (?) $10.00 on clearance
Review Date: 8/19/00

This book is about several years old and published in England. I Don’t know what the conversion rate is, but my guess is that they want about $30 or so. That would be pretty steep considering this book, though slightly oversized, is less than an inch thick. Some major bookstore chains have been dumping it on the bargain tables for $10 which is a deal., and about exactly what it is worth. At first glance it looks like a quick scheme to ride the recent wave of punk’s new popularity. The first couple of pages would seem to confirm that. It has a sort of heavy handed grunge type and design which tries to mimic the old punk style, with the obligatory cover shot of the Sex Pistols dressed like Teddy Boys. It doesn’t take long to find out that it’s worth checking out. After the first couple of pages you’ll notice that most of the pictures aren’t the same ones that you’ve already seen a thousand times, though some are. The quotes are frank and the narrative is sarcastic yet sympathetic without reeking of a condescending “let’s write this for the kids” attitude. The quotes and pictures are mostly fresh and the book even covers some of the fringe elements that usually only get a slight mention in other books. I always thought Iggy Pop was the godfather of punk, or was that Lou Reed? The authors give that title to Ian Dury. I’ve only got a couple of beefs with the book. The photo captions are often to brief and glib. Sometimes the design is a little heavy handed and needlessly obscures the integrity of the photos. My biggest complaint is that the whole book could have been at least three times bigger. I’m pretty wary of anything with the word “punk” in the title, but at $10 you can’t beat it. Four out of five pogo dancers in a basement.