The world changed in 1956, permanently. So says Marcel Danesi in this exciting new history of youth culture and its impact on Western society. From the recording of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" in that year, through the hippie movement, punk, goth, hip-hop, and others, youth culture has radically reshaped our world. Race relations, gender roles, sexuality, and the aging process have all been transformed by the forces unleashed in 1956. In lively and accessible prose, Danesi offers a fresh interpretation of that history and a vindication of today's unfairly maligned youth culture. This authoritative examination of fifty years of social change provides a fascinating analysis of popular culture and the evolutionary tendencies it has instilled into the dynamic of social life.