1966: The Year the Decade Exploded - Hardcover

Jon Savage is the author of England's Dreaming: Sex pistols and Punk Rock and Teenage: The Creation of Youth, 1875–1945. He has written sleeve notes for Wire, St. Etienne and the Pet Shop Boys, among others, and his compilations include: Meridian 1970 (Heavenly/EMI 2005); Queer Noises: From the Closest to the Charts 1961–1976 (Trikont 2006); and Dreams Come True: Classic Electro 1982-87 (Domino 2008).

"A fascinating read for pop culture buffs." Goldmine

"Savage’s 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded makes a vibrant and important contribution to our understanding of the 1960s. Using the prism of pop music, the author manages to recover the rich aesthetic legacy of 1966 and reminds us that pop music can be a vital and affective [sic] medium for resurrecting the buried consciousness of history." Los Angeles Review of Books

"Jon Savage makes the case for the year’s pivotal developments...[1966] navigates through seismic shifts that occurred that year not just in pop music, but also in film, theater, television, art and society in general." Los Angeles Times

"1966: The Year The Decade Exploded is an education. Whether you’re a fan of music, pop culture, social issues this book must be delved into and devoured because it offers so much. And then work your way through the rest of Mr. Savage’s oeuvre. None of his work should be missed (not even album liner notes!) for he is one of the few in our lifetime who has the width of scope to fill in all the necessary details in the telling of facts. His writing is vivid, sharp, clear and you get the story in full and from all sides. This book is simply not to be missed." Robert Ross, PopDose

"On both sides of the Atlantic [Savage] finds sociohistorical gold....he illustrates evolving theses with classics and finds, number ones shrouded in memory and minor hits you missed and flops you never heard of." Christian Science Monitor

"As with his equally impressive analysis of the punk movement in The England’s Dreaming Tapes, Savage proves with 1966 an uncanny ability to approach a well-known subject in new and different ways. Anyone with even the slightest interest in 60s popular music, culture and events will find much to like in 1966." PopMatters

"A heavily researched deep dive into both the year's U.S.-U.K. pop landscape and their attendant sociopolitical ferment....[There's a] constant sense of present tense surprise captured by [Savage's] carefully cultivated archival diggings." NPR's The Record

"[A] sprawling tour de force about the pop music of 1966 and the seismic events in the world that helped shape it ... vast in detail, breathtaking in scope and ambition." Richard Whitehead, The Times

"From pop to politics, 1966 brilliantly explores how one pivotal year changed our culture." Stylist