At as loss for what to read this summer? Take a look at the books recommended by Daniel Pinchbeck, Steve Aylett, Ian MacKaye, Mike Daily, Paul Saffo, Gareth Branwyn, Rodger Bridges, Peter Lunenfeld, Erik Davis, Richard Metzger, Dave Allen, Mark Pesce, Alex Burns, Paul Miller, Brian Tunney, Patrick Barber, Steven Shaviro, Ashley Crawford, Cynthia Connolly, and Gary Baddeley.
Richard Metzger:
Christopher Booker The Neophilliacs (Gambit): One of the great forgotten books of the 1970s, you can still find used copies on the ABE Books website. Private Eye magazine co-founder Booker writes of what he describes as a “psychic epidemic” which struck British culture in the 1960s. His central point is a startling one: During the swinging 60s a cadre of influential London media darlings (e.g., The Beatles, Marianne Faithful, David Hemmings, David Bailey, etc.) exhibited – and were rewarded for – outlandish behaviors, exhibitionist clothing and general attitudes that would have seemed daft at best or insane at worst to the previous generation. The widespread veneration of these immature neurotics is the exact point when society and culture took a radical detour into frivolity and meaninglessness. One look at YouTube, of course, proves Booker’s point in spades! Reading this book almost forty years after it was written is an eye-opening experience indeed. It would be a real pity if the unique perspectives provided by this book are lost to history.
