This book brings together quite a few things: for starters, it's published by Feral House, which is owned and operated by Adam Parfrey. Founded in 1989, Feral House established itself as a publishing house, championing innovative and celebrated nonfiction books – books that sowed the seeds for the development of what would become cultural trends that eventually took over the dominant culture and, in a word, centered on unusual, extreme or “forbidden” areas of knowledge. Claiming that Parfrey's EXIT magazine, his Amok press releases, Apocalypse Culture or the complete compilation of Answer Me! and the literary canon of Jim Goad had a huge impact on your humble narrator during his formative years, would be an understatement par excellence. Feral House was at the forefront of counterculture and exposed generations of curious young people to new ideas, new concepts and, ultimately, the people behind them, some of whom became my companions and collaborators. Parfrey continued his journey by co-founding the Process Media brand, partnering with Dilettante Press and thus unearthing Robert de Grimston's Process Church writing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The other thing is the author of Hard-Core: Life of my own: The New York City institution, Mr. Harley Flanagan and his band, the flagship hardcore group of the Cro-Mags. Chances are, if you're at all into hardcore, you'll be familiar with and passionate about their work. Otherwise, rest assured that your favorite bands are as "hardcore" as most people know, they were invented by the likes of Harley. What really introduced me to the Cro-Mags at the time was the re-release of their original demo as bootleg 10". Age of Quarrel had already established itself as a milestone, but the recordings original demos showed nuances of rawness which gave the songs a new dimension It is still part of my Top 5 hardcore recordings of all time. With its 444 pages, Hard-Core: Life of my own is a big tome. details the life and times of Harley Flanagan In the comedy-drama film Forrest Gump, the protagonist's life story intersects with many important social, political, and cultural events in American history and, thanks to the technology of special effects, Forrest appears to interact with historically important actors, from American presidents to John Lennon. Nothing like that is needed in Flanagan's life since he's been there and done that since he was eleven. , he became an integral part of what would become the very fabric of modern counterculture, mingling with Andy Warhol, The Clash, Lemmy, Stiv Bators, Debbie Harry, Allen Ginsberg and learning to play bass from one founding fathers of punk and hardcore, the Bad Brains, while already playing drums in his aunt's punk band, The Stimulators. The book, part history book, part real-life Clockwork Orange on steroids, details Harley's upbringing, her wild and violent youth, her influences, and the backdrop of the urban jungle of the 1970s Lower East Side which ultimately gave rise to the Cro-Mags, a group that embodied the template for what would become known as New York Hardcore and whose history became riddled with feuds fueled by animosity among its constituents. What makes Harley's book a great read is that it's not just a victory lap or self-indulgent tales, but it offers perspective and humility. It shows the evolution of a man and is a story of survival, transformation.