If you have a hankering for late-70s British punk, then Jon Savage's England's Dreaming is a must-read. As a man who experienced the punk scene first-hand, Savage has a thorough grasp of the subject, and it shows in this authoritative tome. He depicts punk, "music by and for the outcasts," for what it was: a significant point in music history, and that punk, in effect, proved that "destruction could be a creative urge."

In greater detail, Savage's intellectual critique of an unforgettable era that changed society and music forever, primarily deals with the Sex Pistols in London, but also tells of other bands that formed right on their heels, like the Damned, the Clash, and the Buzzcocks. And it's not only an analysis of the music and the bands, but also of England during the mid-to late-70s, as he relates how hard England was hit by recession and just the general feeling of hopelessness that was so prevalent: "Any apocalypse seemed preferable to the slow death by suffocation...of living in England." As a result, not only does the reader learn what bands influenced the formation of the Pistols, like the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, and the Ramones, but also the economic and social factors that contributed to the birth of British punk rock.

Savage expertly chronicles the formative years of punk, detailing the rise of the Sex Pistols like no one else - from Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's shop at 430 King's Road where British punk and fashion was born, to the formation of the Sex Pistols in late 1975 and the ensuing chaos that enveloped the band, to their disastrous American tour of the Deep South which culminated in their dissolution in early 1978, to Sid Vicious' tragic end, and finally to what became of the British punk scene after the Pistols broke up. Also discussed in the book are the roles women played in the punk movement, highlighted by comments from such luminaries as Siouxsie Sioux, Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex, Viv Albertine, and Jordan.

Every imaginable resource is tapped in order to form a highly critical account of the forces that caused this phenomenon to occur and grow. For instance, Savage incorporates excerpts from his own journal via the late-70s and insightful commentary from some of the major players of the time, including John Lydon, Malcolm McLaren, Joe Strummer, T.V. Smith, and Pete Shelley, as well as some of the music journalists who were just as vital, as they were reporting on the scene as it broke and disseminating information through such publications as Sounds, NME, and Melody Maker. Likewise, Savage tells about the zines that were started, like "Sniffing Glue", which embodied the whole DIY element that was such a prominent part of punk.

Some great features that are included in this book are the extensive, "selective and thematic" discography (64 pages worth) and the 16-page glossy photo section. There's no denying it's a long book, but it's worth your while and will leave you enthralled to the very end. Before reading England's Dreaming I felt that punk - the British form - was revolutionary and amazingly different, and now that I know all the facts, I'm even more impressed.