Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST WRITTEN EXAMINATION & HISTORY OF PUNK
Review: In 1976, I was 14. I remember the excitement of seeing some video footage of the Sex Pistols in 1977. "Rock" was boring, so I got heavily into punk - it was thrilling! This book is by far the BEST I have read about that thrilling experience - being in the USA, I missed the action in London, and this book describes it in depth, bringing all sorts of strands of history together, and THOROUGHLY capturing the era. Jon Savage's writing style makes it a JOY to read. And the in-depth punk discography (with Savage's comments)at the end of the book is something I refer to over and over. If you are interested in READING about punk rock, including its origins and social impact on the U.K., THIS is THE bible! This is IT!
Rating:
Summary: Accurate
Review: In a world full of rockbooks written by people who have never met their subjects, and weren't present at the events they describe, "England's Dreaming" stands out with distinction. The advent of punk was clearly a liberating event for Jon, and he recreates the period with great panache. As someone else who participated, the highest compliment I can pay is to say that no other book I know of reminds me so forcibly of what a horrible period this was to live through! The awful music, the Stalinist straitjacket of Punk Political Correctness, the rank hypocrisy of half of the participants, who eagerly concealed their pasts as they leapt aboard the bandwagon, the half-assed hustlers elbowing their way in, the dullard, pogoing audiences who couldn't differentiate between the original work - early Pistols live, X-Ray Spex - and the 5th rate copies like 909, UK Subs or The Clash ..... oh dear. What a dreadful time. The real funtime of English punk was over by the end of 1976, and the slow decline through the next 3 years, as the scavengers fought over the corpse is vividly brought to life by Jon's book. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Its Long winded and boring.
Review: Its long winded and boring (it does pick up after the first 150 pages...) If you really really really love the sex pistols, and are obessed with tiny little facts about their manager, and their lifes, then this book is for you. If want to know more about the punk movement, anarchy and beyond don't read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: lydon
Review: Johnny Rotten himself on his current radio/online show on Eyada said that when he read this, he felt as if the book itself had swallowed a dictionary; that he had to look up about 50,000 words when reading it. And Rotten is a voracious reader, with a big vocabulary, so that's saying something.
Rating:
Summary: One of the great books about pop culture, of ANY genre
Review: Jon Savage has clicked on all cylinders with England's Dreaming, a massive, but thoroughly engaging, portrait of England during the time of Punk's "Rotten" birth. All of the players are allowed to speak and Savage has done a masterful job of putting everything into an intellectual, social, cultural and political context. This is a book to be read slowly, and savored.
Rating:
Summary: God Save John Lydon
Review: Jon Savage is a wonderfully fluent writer of English, rock history, and language. At 43 years of age now I look back at my salad days, or what I remember of them somewhat awestruck. What is amazing is not that the revolution never really happened, but that so much has been written about what at the time seemed rather more like fun than civil disobedience. Dressing up in silly costumes, consuming too many drugs, and mashing up My Father's Place when the Ramones played etc. At the heart of it then, we really did think we could change the world, and if anyone actually did bring real change it was the Sex Pistols and their mastermind Malcolm McLaren. I'm writing 25 years to the week after Sid Vicious died in New York, and two years after Joe Strummer of the Clash passed on. These bands changed the way music could be done in a fundamental way. This book gives a detailed chronical in first hand reports of the early days of punk in London. For those of us who used to hang out at Club Mudd in the late 70's it is a mirror to look in to see ourselves in our self destructive glory. If you're too young to remember, or you're just into rock history this book is still important. I read this book when it first issued, then picked it up again recently, and both times thoroughly enjoyed it. Savage put a wonderful scholarly gloss on the artistic and social heritage of punk rock. Some of his analyses may be overwrought but however tenous the links, it is undeniable that punk rock combined nihilism, socialism and the spirit of revolution in a way that is somehow unique in musical history. The first disenfranchised hip-hop generation of the late '80s is somehow a fair successor to the punk movement. Maybe I'm a crusty old rocker now, but everything else seems derivative somehow. I've read a bunch of punk rock books and this one is a gem among sow's ears. This book provides an amazing snapshot of the music and social scene in England at one crucial turning point in the history of music. It is well worth reading. Sometimes you might want to wear your old leather motorcycle jacket and pop on the Buzzcocks too.
Rating:
Summary: God Save John Lydon
Review: Jon Savage is a wonderfully fluent writer of English, rock history, and language. At 43 years of age now I look back at my salad days, or what I remember of them somewhat awestruck. What is amazing is not that the revolution never really happened, but that so much has been written about what at the time seemed rather more like fun than civil disobedience. Dressing up in silly costumes, consuming too many drugs, and mashing up My Father's Place when the Ramones played etc. At the heart of it then, we really did think we could change the world, and if anyone actually did bring real change it was the Sex Pistols and their mastermind Malcolm McLaren. I'm writing 25 years to the week after Sid Vicious died in New York, and two years after Joe Strummer of the Clash passed on. These bands changed the way music could be done in a fundamental way. This book gives a detailed chronical in first hand reports of the early days of punk in London. For those of us who used to hang out at Club Mudd in the late 70's it is a mirror to look in to see ourselves in our self destructive glory. If you're too young to remember, or you're just into rock history this book is still important. I read this book when it first issued, then picked it up again recently, and both times thoroughly enjoyed it. Savage put a wonderful scholarly gloss on the artistic and social heritage of punk rock. Some of his analyses may be overwrought but however tenous the links, it is undeniable that punk rock combined nihilism, socialism and the spirit of revolution in a way that is somehow unique in musical history. The first disenfranchised hip-hop generation of the late '80s is somehow a fair successor to the punk movement. Maybe I'm a crusty old rocker now, but everything else seems derivative somehow. I've read a bunch of punk rock books and this one is a gem among sow's ears. This book provides an amazing snapshot of the music and social scene in England at one crucial turning point in the history of music. It is well worth reading. Sometimes you might want to wear your old leather motorcycle jacket and pop on the Buzzcocks too.
Rating:
Summary: It was even wilder than it seemed at the time
Review: Jon Savage's trip through Punk begins about 50 to 60 pages in - after some early flummery on Westwood and McLaren. From there on Savage just can't tell the story fast enough. This is a cracking read and, for me, a chance to relive a childhood. What a breath of fresh air Punk was. And what a story this is. England's Dreaming really gets you deep into the madness. For that's what it was. McLaren, the egoist business man, versus Sid and Lydon versus Richard Branson and the record companies. It was a game of chicken between the lot of them. Sadly, Sid lost in a big way. McLaren and Lydon? Well, they were responsible for two of the greatest pop classics of all time...Double Dutch and Public Image. The record companies now have the internet to keep them awake at night. As for Ronnie Biggs. Well the law finally got its revenge in 2001 as skint Ronnie flew back to Blighty on a plane chartered by the English tabloids. Chat rooms across the land debated whether England's favourite villain should serve his time or get his final wish of one last pint in an English pub. The wigs have yet to decide the ending. But what a ride it's been.... Some reviewers seem to dislike Savage's apparent closeness to his subjects. I think that this makes for even better copy - especially the passage down the Thames on the night the dream came crashing down. England's Dreaming is, quite simply, a wonderful book of life on the edge. The UK in the early to mid 1970s was an awful place. Punk changed everything for a lot of people.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo
Review: My favorite band is the Sex Pistols, so I took a general liking to this book. I really loved it. At first I got it just because I thought it was about the Sex Pistols, but it wasn't. It was about the whole punk scene it's self. It really shed some light on all the negative myths about everyone involved what was going on. By: Lauren Brown
Rating:
Summary: Erik is So Right!
Review: Oh Erik Selvia - you are so right! The focus of this book is so narrow and exclusionary that one never gets the full picture of the so-called "punk movement". What movement? Please! The 60's music scene represented a social movement, but this punk thing pales in comparision. Savage tries to elevate it to the same level of significance (as far as social change is concerned). Real changes occurred in the 60's - the late 70s and 80s punk music scenes merely voiced a rude and crude complaint. Don't get me wrong - a lot of great music was generated out of the complaint, but its level of historical significance, outside of contributing to the development of new musical styles and presentation, is minimal to be sure.
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