Wow, if you are looking for uplifting stories from happy lives, well, you won't find it here. I assumed most of those in the punk scene were pretty messed up, but I had no idea. A brilliant book through and invaluable source of information about punk.

It consists solely of paragraph (or longer) interviews (well, generally the statements without the questions) from somebody then followed by another, sometimes following on the same narrative, or branching off onto something related. The book starts with the Andy Warhol/New York/Velvet Underground scene then moves through the Doors and Detroit (MC5/Stooges) and the beginnings of the New York punk scene (New York Dolls). It mostly then centers on the NY scene, Max's/CBGBs and touches on its crossover into London, finally with the Sex Pistols imploding and bringing it all down again. Punk quickly dies and the narratives follow to the dead ends, the breakups, and the overdoses and deaths.

It certainly isn't a comprehensive history of punk, as only New York is really covered in any depth. Even then, there are still gaps, like there are only interviews with Dee Dee Ramone, but none of the rest of them. But its depth with those it does interview and cover is really enlightening and makes for a fascinating read and insight into some of the main movers of punk.