The birth of rock 'n roll ignited a firestorm of controversy--one critic called it "musical riots put to a switchblade beat"--but if it generated much sound and fury, what, if anything, did it signify? As Glenn Altschuler reveals in All Shook Up, the rise of rock 'n roll--and the outraged reception to it--in fact can tell us a lot about the values of the United States in the 1950s, a decade that saw a great struggle for the control of popular culture. Altschuler shows, in particular, how rock's "switchblade beat" opened up wide fissures in American society along the fault-lines of family, sexuality, and race. For instance, the birth of rock coincided with the Civil Rights movement and brought "race music" into many white homes for the first time. Elvis freely credited blacks with originating the music he sang and some of the great early rockers were African American, most notably, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. In addition, rock celebrated romance and sex, rattled the reticent by pushing sexuality into the public arena, and mocked deferred gratification and the obsession with work of men in gray flannel suits. And it delighted in the separate world of the teenager and deepened the divide between the generations, helping teenagers differentiate themselves from others. Altschuler includes vivid biographical sketches of the great rock 'n rollers, including Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly--plus their white-bread doppelgangers such as Pat Boone. Rock 'n roll seemed to be everywhere during the decade, exhilarating, influential, and an outrage to those Americans intent on wishing away all forms of dissent and conflict. As vibrant as the music itself, All Shook Up reveals how rock 'n roll challenged and changed American culture and laid the foundation for the social upheaval of the sixties.

The King of Rock ’n’ Roll lives! And he’s Josh’s dad. When 13-year-old Josh finds out that he has to stay with his dad in Chicago for a few months, he’s not too thrilled. But when he arrives at the airport, he’s simply devastated. His father—who used to be a scatterbrained but pretty normal shoe salesman—has become . . . Elvis. Well, a sideburnwearing, hip-twisting, utterly-embarrassing Elvis impersonator. Josh is determined to keep his dad’s identity a secret, but on his very first day at his new school, a note appears on his locker. It’s signed Elvisly Yours, and instead of a name, a sneering purple smiley face. The secret is out, and when his dad is invited to perform at a special 50s concert at his school, Josh is forced to take drastic action. From award-winning author Shelley Pearsall comes a hilarious novel about discovering the important (and sometimes painful) difference between who you want to be—and who you really are. “Alternately wry, silly, thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny.”—BookPage

Examines the life of Elvis Presley, focusing on the influence his music had on popular culture.

A Man With a Past When an unexpected inheritance sends J.D. Carver to the Star Lake Lodge to claim his half, he's expecting trouble. Being greeted with open arms by the whole Lawrence gang—feisty Aunt Sophie and calm Uncle Ben, clearly off-limits Dru and her young son, Tate—just convinces him they're working an angle, and he's determined to uncover it. But a tiny part of him longs for the home-and-hearth life they have. A Woman With a Reputation Dru's finally beaten her bad-girl reputation, and though the Lodge may not be exciting, she's fiercely protective of her quiet home. Hard-eyed J.D.'s ability to push all her buttons just proves how wrong he is for her. So why does her son hero-worship the guy? And why does her heart clench when he gets that "nose pressed against the candy shop window" look on his face?

Earthquakes, nuclear accidents, and floods were among the many unexpected tragedies that struck the Soviet Union over its history. Requiring the immediate mobilization of vast resources and aid, and embedded within a specific context and time, these catastrophes provide critical insights into the nature of the twentieth-century Communist state. All Shook Up takes a close look at the representation in film, the political repercussions, and the social opportunities of large-scale catastrophes in separate Soviet epochs, including the 1927 earthquake in the Crimean peninsula, the 1948 earthquake in Ashgabat, the Tashkent earthquake in 1966, the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, and the Armenian earthquake in 1988. Juxtaposing various disaster responses and demonstrating the ways both Soviet authorities and citizens molded them to their own cultural needs, Nigel Raab highlights the radical shifts in disaster policy from one leader to the next. Given the opportunity to act outside regular parameters, Soviet residents not only rebuilt their devastated cities, but also experimented with new values and crafted their own worldview while the state struggled to return the situation to normal. Based on archival research conducted in Russia and Ukraine, All Shook Up fills a gap in a global literature and challenges stereotypical representations of the Soviet Union as a monolithic state.

Elvis Presley, in his remarkable career, only toured outside the United States once and that was in 1957. On two separate tours, he performed concerts in three Canadian cities: Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. Notably, the Elvis concert in Vancouver at Empire Stadium on August 31, 1957, would be the final time the King performed in Canada. Over six decades have passed since those unforgettable concerts and fans (young and old) still remember when the King rocked Canada! The book contains interviews with fans and media members who attended Elvis' Canadian concerts; some had the opportunity to meet Elvis backstage. In addition, there are rare photos taken of Elvis in Vancouver, as well as photos of Elvis taken by fans who met the King in the 1960s. Also, there are insightful comments and reflections about Elvis: Canadian TV personality, Elaine "Lainey" Lui; Canadian music manager, Bruce Allen; legendary Vancouver disc jockey, Red Robinson (emcee of the King's 1957 Vancouver concert) and more. This is a book not only for Elvis fans, but fans of rock 'n' roll music and pop culture history. Long live the King!

Rock & roll was one of the most important cultural developments in post–World War II America, yet its origins are shrouded in myth and legend. Let’s Rock! reclaims the lost history of rock & roll. Based on years of research, as well as interviews with Bo Diddley, Pat Boone, and other rock & roll pioneers, the book offers new information and fresh perspectives about Elvis, the rise of rock & roll, and 1950s America. Rock & roll is intertwined with the rise of a post–World War II youth culture, the emergence of African Americans in society, the growth of consumer culture, technological change, the expansion of mass media, and the rise of a Cold War culture that endorsed traditional values to guard against communism. Richard Aquila’s book demonstrates that early rock & roll was not as rebellious as common wisdom has it. The new sound reflected the conservatism and conformity of the 1950s as much as it did the era’s conflict. Rock & roll supported centrist politics, traditional values, and mainstream attitudes toward race, gender, class, and ethnicity. The musical evidence proves that most teenagers of the 1950s were not that different from their parents and grandparents when it came to basic beliefs, interests, and pastimes. Young and old alike were preoccupied by the same concerns, tensions, and insecurities. Rock & roll continues to permeate the fabric of modern life, and understanding the music’s origins reminds us of the common history we all share. Music lovers who grew up during rock & roll’s early years as well as those who have come to it more recently will find Let’s Rock an exciting historical and musical adventure.

Sara Havens is The Bar Belle for LEO Weekly and writes about everything from the Louisville, Ky., nightlife and hangover cures to the latest in bars, cocktails and watered-down American swill. A personality-driven column that runs every other week in LEO, The Bar Belle was created in 2006, which is, ironically, the year Sara's mother stopped reading the paper. The Bar Belle was named Best Column (for a circulation under 50,000) at the 2011 AltWeekly Awards. This book features 100 of her best columns from 2006-2010.

The story of soda is the story of the modern world, a tale of glamorous bubbles, sparkling dreams, big bucks, miracle cures and spreading waistlines. Fizz! How Soda Shook Up The World charts soda's remarkable, world-changing journey from awe-inspiring natural mystery to ubiquitous presence in all our lives. Along the way you'll meet the quack medicine peddlers who spawned some of the world's biggest brands with their all-healing concoctions as well as the grandees of science and medicine mesmerized by the magic of bubbling water. You'll discover how fizzy pop cashed in on Prohibition, helped presidents reach the White House, and became public health enemy number one. You'll learn how Pepsi put the fizz in Apple's marketing and how soda's sticky sweet allure defined and built nations. And you'll find out how a soda-loving snail rewrote the law books. Fizz! tells the extraordinary tale of how a seemingly simple everyday refreshment zinged and pinged over our taste buds and, in doing so, changed the world around us. Tristan Donovan is the author of Replay: The History of Video Games. His work has appeared in the Times, Stuff, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, and the Big Issue, among others.