it was kind of sliney, almost bratty sort of dialogue style that really caught the eye of young people, people of all ages but especially younger people. the book really made quite an impression on readers at the time and really throughout the '50s and into the '60s toda today. >> the subtitle of your book, besides j.d. salinger "catcher in the rye," what other rebellious figures were out there? >> in the initial postwar period, white middle-class folks were really attracted to a host of different figures that they experienced mostly through popular culture, through television, through magazine reading, "life" magazine especially. those sorts of venues. and also the movies. so particularly in the '50s, rock 'n roll, the birth of rock 'n roll, particularly folks like elvis presley a favorite of young people and older folks as well across the country who really made a name for himself acting. very deliberately putting on a performance of blackness, of black style, black dress styles, black musical styles though he was of course white. and other figures followed him. rock 'n roll would be