Elvis, Michael, Patti, Bruce--icons all. The Rolling Stone portraits assembled in this book depict five decades worth of musical sensations and idols. The juxtaposition of the shots heightens the fun of flipping through the photos: A young Mick Jagger sitting under a hairdryer faces Snoop Doggy Dog, his curls caught up in a hairdresser's clips; David Bowie in a loincloth counterbalances Björk in a fig leaf; Chris Isaak and John Lee Hooker stand opposite one another, each in a polka-dot shirt; Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, side by side and enveloped in clouds of smoke...

More than 20 years after its initial publication, Mystery Train remains one of the smartest, most provocative books ever written about rock-and-roll. Marcus puts his subjects--which include Robert Johnson, Elvis Presley, The Band, Randy Newman, and Sly Stone--into their proper context, which is the culture-at-large...