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“The stories Lynskey tells are as epoch-shaping as the songs themselves… This isn’t just a history of protest songs but of youth culture and its beautiful reaction to the violence of power.”

NME (Book of the Year, 2011)

“The stories Lynskey tells are as epoch-shaping as the songs themselves… This isn’t just a history of protest songs but of youth culture and its beautiful reaction to the violence of power.”

NME (Book of the Year, 2011)

“A thoughtful study of protest songs… lucidly and authoritatively describing how they came to be written, the state of the artist’s mind and career, and the political and musical context.”

Dave Haslam, The Guardian

“Magnificent… To create a book as convincing and vivid on the topic as Lynskey has done here might have seemed a daunting challenge had he not done it so spectacularly well.”

Nina Power, The Wire

“an admirable piece of work”

Philip King, The Irish Times

“[A] majestic new history… profoundly moving.”

Patrick Sawer, The Sunday Telegraph

“Superbly written and expertly researched, it’s a fascinating insight into the makings of some of the most provocative songs ever produced.”

Shortlist

“a completely absorbing look at 33 songs, spanning seven decades and hailing from five continents... Comprehensive and beautifully written.”

Booklist (starred review)

“[A] provocative, absorbing book.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

“As regimes around the world crumble under the weight of popular protest, Dorian Lynskey’s excellent and exhaustive history of protest music could not be more timely. He has painstakingly fashioned a social record of the past 100 years out of pop songs, paying tribute to the music that both reflects events and plays a part in changing them… a fascinating journey.”

Rebecca Nicholson, The Sunday Times

“33 Revolutions Per Minute is a scrupulously researched, elegantly written and highly absorbing account of the intersection of politics and music built around 33 key songs, and the events that yielded them.”

Fiona Sturges, The Independent

“Lynskey uses each track as starting marks for extensive, thoughtful, beautifully written and often wryly funny rambles around a theme… Would that all books about rock’n’roll were so intelligent, and all books about history such fun.”

Andrew Mueller, The New Humanist

“A panoramic view of music, politics and social history that’s wonderfully well-written, informative and often surprisingly funny.”

Uncut

“[an] agile, many-tentacled writer.”

Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“An ambitious, astute summary of political songs, from the 1940s to the present… Lynskey presents a difficult, risky art form in all its complexity.”

Kirkus (starred review)

“A must-read for militant-music lovers.”

The Root