An insightful study of seven great pop musicians who expanded the boundaries of musical creativity in their own different ways during the peaks of their careers in the second half of the 20th Century. The musicians discussed in this work are Yoko Ono, Frank Zappa, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Sun Ra, James Brown, and Sigmund Snopek III. The author Bob Mielke teaches American Literature and Culture at Truman State University.

Photographer James Crnkovich and his collaborator Robert Del Tredici present a series of stunning images documenting America's (and indeed the rest of the world's) dangerous and senseless love affair with the atomic bomb. Their images and comments seek to awaken us from our apathetic slumbers and to remind us of the danger that surrounds us and that threatens to bring human life, and perhaps all life, to a premature end on this planet. This is a must read for anyone who has become complacent about humankind's troubled history with this hideous power.