The product of six years of work, this 315 page book by Eighties scene veteran George Hurchalla is one of the most comprehensive looks yet at the nationwide punk underground of the era. Featuring the photography of Marie Kanger-Born of Chicago, Dixon Coulbourn of Austin, Brian Trudell of LA, Malcolm Riviera of DC, Justina Davies of New York, Ed Arnaud of Arizona, and others, the book is graphically rich as well as a great read. Rather than trot out the usual suspects from LA, NY, and DC that are typically written about, Hurchalla delves deeper into the underground's underbelly to root out stories from Chicago, Philadelphia, Austin, Lawrence, Annapolis, Iowa, Cincinnati, Florida, and elsewhere. Like most of the truly great books on punk that have emerged to date, Hurchalla mixes the personal in with the words of dozens of band members, promoters, artists, and folks that were there. Articles Of Faith, Effigies, Big Boys, Husker Du, Necros, Reagan Youth, Government Issue, Minutemen, Replacements...and well, you have it all here really. Quite superb, and the hundreds of photos complement it all perfectly.
