Initial response to ‘The Restless Generation’

Pete Frame has produced the book he was born to write and, in doing so, has given us the definitive account of the decade. The perfect mix of pop culture and social history, this is the Book Of The Year, no question.
Alan Lewis, Record Collector

The definitive book on the subject.
Billy Bragg,
who picked ‘The Restless Generation’ as one of his
Books Of The Year in the New Statesman

Meticulous research coupled with enthusiastic, acerbic, amusing and yet wonderfully authoritative writing. Truly excellent, a real light-bulb experience.
fRoots

An enormously important and brilliantly researched investigation; lovingly assembled prose. Essential reading.
Fred Dellar, Mojo

A superb read, a true gold-star achievement, the cream on the already luxurious Frame-work cake that has established the benchmark for scholarly excellence in the field. It often made me laugh out loud but I rarely bothered to look up to see if anyone was staring because I didn’t want to stop reading, not even for a second.
Mark Lewisohn, music historian and author

Congratulations on writing the work which will stand for eons as the definitive text on the era.
Ed Ward, historian, journalist and blogger

This wonderful book is leavened with the irreverent humour, insight and factual grasp that made the early issues of Zigzag and his Rock Family Trees books so invaluable.
Pat Curran, Shindig magazine

What incredible attention to detail.
He has done a remarkable job.
Got me remembering people and places
I hadn't thought about in years.
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott,
guitarist and singer

Photo of Ramblin' Jack Elliot by Peter O'Brien
November 2007

I'm reading it now - blimey!!
Tommy Steele, rock'n'roller turned Renaissance man

Absolutely brilliant.  Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2
Click  to hear Bob's quote, and the wonderful 'Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O' by The Vipers from 1956

Fabulous. Content flawless.  Tim Rice, you know who he is

This book is the Bible, the first definitive history of our musical heritage.
John Braley, archivist, Gene Vincent Fan Club

In this awesome work of love and devotion, Frame is revealed as an idiosyncratic social and cultural historian unrestrained by academe and its faux objectivity. Perceptive and witty, ‘The Restless Generation’ contains his best writing . . . he has told the story with pride and prejudice – and passion. This book will become an underground classic.
Jeff Cloves, Peace News

A wonderful book. Tom McGuinness, The Blues Band

Couldn’t put it down – wonderful stuff.
Tony Sheridan, original art school rocker, cornerstone of the German rock ‘n’ roll scene

Top Stuff! I don't know how you do it
Jake Riviera, multifaceted mogul and motivator

Pete cuts a wide and irreverent swath . . . the research is impressive, the telling definitive and it’s a fucking blast to read. He has such an easy and natural style – history has never been so fascinating or such fun.
One of the best books about music, ever.
Howard Thompson, MD of Cake Radio, coolest station on the net

At last someone sets the record straight, once and for all. Well-written, witty, entertaining and informative, this is a must-read book.
Ed Jackson, Official Chris Barber web-site

I read it from cover to cover straight away – marvellous job.
Rob Finnis, rock historian

It is so atmospheric, you can smell Soho.
Brian Gregg, original 2Is coffee-bar cowboy

Because this magnum opus is also enhanced by the laugh-out-loud wit peculiar to Frame alone, morning will turn into evening without you noticing the lengthening shadows, until it gets too dark to read on. One of the most interesting books I’ve ever read.
Alan Clayson, Rock'n'Reel magazine

It’s an important book; most of it needed to be said and hasn’t been said before. Great scholarship and great writing.
Hylda Sims, poet, novelist, bohemian, communard

I was reading it on the train and laughed so much that the guy sitting opposite asked me if he could take a note of the title and the author. It is definitely my Book Of The Year.
Spencer Leigh, author and broadcaster

What a great read – absolutely breathtaking.
Philip Lloyd-Smee, designer, magazine publisher, record label owner, historian

Brilliant. Rob Fitzpatrick, The Word

I had tears rolling down my face ... a cultural classic. I feel honoured just to get a mention it
Jeff Dexter, spirit of the age

He paints the picture perfectly. This is how it was and, regrettably, this is how we were.
John Pilgrim, journalist, philosopher, survivor of the Vipers skiffle group

It's a brilliant work and immediately stands head and shoulders above all but a few works on the decade. I can say this with some certainty because I've read scores of them. Most provide genuine insights and useful information but none are anywhere near as comprehensive, level-headed and carefully constructed as this masterwork. We are all in his debt for the thousands and thousands of hours he has spent since 1989, doing interviews and thinking about this project.
John May, The Generalist

Like being at a banquet with the world’s finest food, totally stuffed but unable to stop eating, it defies description, only that I was exhilarated and exhausted at the end. Believe me when I say I’ve never read anything remotely like it; people have tried but never before have I known that I could trust every word to be true.
I laughed a lot and cried at the final page. A masterwork that will never be equalled.
John Gustafson, legendary bass player

Wonderful stuff and a lovely read. Congratulations on a book that deserves to be recommended on all book lists forever.
Colin Larkin, Editor-in-chief, Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A total delight. By the end, I knew I had read an important book and had been thoroughly entertained.
Now Dig This magazine

Frame has managed to achieve the more-or-less impossible by actually re-creating the atmosphere and ambience of the 1950s. It’s the book I would have given anything to have written. A thoroughly magnificent job.
Roger Dopson, rock historian, archivist and educator

A book to remind us of popular music's power to move us.
Liz Thomson, The Independent, Music Books of the Year

Frame paints a surprisingly vivid world as he explains the new music’s dramatic unfolding, with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent inspiring kids, ensuring future careers for the Claptons and Woods, Lennons and McCartneys.
Bob Stanley, The Times, annual music books round-up

Although a marathon 500 pages in length, ‘The Restless Generation’ never outstays its welcome, and establishes its author as one of the great chroniclers of our recent times.
Hot Press

Well, it finally arrived, the moment I’ve been dreading . . . I reached the last page.
Keith Smith, historian, archivist, collector, sage and pundit