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I had a love/hate relationship with this book. While I enjoyed Leland's comprehensive review of the origins of "hip," his smarmy, self-important tone drove me crazy. I loved learning more about why white people love minstrel shows, the historical importance of Williams Burroughs and why trucker hats were briefly considered hip, but I'm not sure if slogging through Leland's insufferable musings was worth it (for a prime example of this, read his passage on 353 & 354 justifying the age old story of "the white boy who stole the blues" - he actually says that "[the white boy's:] thefts are the beginning of meaning." I might vomit.). It's clear that Leland considers himself hip, and is therefore going to insert his opinions into what could have been a straightforward historical review of "hip" as an idea. If he'd been able to separate the two, this would have been a much better book.