Full name: All Ages: Reflections on Straight Edge

Author: Beth Lahickey Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories: Music, Biographies, Memoirs, Non Fiction Purchase/reserch links: LibraryThing Amazon Goodreads ISBNs: 9781889703008 1889703001

The title of this book is a bit misleading, since All Ages is really just about the late 80's East Coast straight edge hardcore scene and not, as the title might imply, about straight edge in general. However, this is actually a good thing since there have been a zillion books about the beginnings of the straight edge movement in the early 80's Washington D.C. hardcore scene, and this is the only book (that I know of, anyway) about the "second wave." All Ages offers a well-edited collection of interviews, stories, and photos, providing a very clear picture of the key bands and timeline, and most importantly how straight edge had evolved and changed both musically and culturally from its early 80's roots. The author doesn't simply drop you in the middle of things and assume you know how you got there - a common shortcoming of books like this since they tend to be written with a select audience in mind and therefore assume a lot of prior knowledge - this book could probably be read by someone with no prior exposure to hardcore. Not that they'd want to, but you know. Anyway, it's the only book on this topic, and luckily for us it's good. Similar books: American Hardcore by Steven Blush Hardcore California by Peter Belsito We Got the Neutron Bomb by Marc Spitz Dance of Days by Mark Andersen Banned in DC by Cynthia Connolly Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil