Are the Kids All Right?: The Rock Generation and Its Hidden Death Wish

This meticulously researched book about the concert tragedy at Riverfront's Coliseum in December 1979 is a shocker. The author does nothing to sensationalize the story; he lays down the facts in a meticulous and methodical way. The facts, in and of themselves, are sensational enough. The book is a real page turner. It clarifies many of the misconceptions about what happened that night: there was no stampede. Eleven hapless concert-goers were literally squeezed to death. I was appalled over officials' reluctance to do away with festival seating at the Coliseum, particularly since people had tried in vain to warn them about what was fast becoming a deadly situation-- a tragedy waiting to happen. The concert prior to the deadly one should have been a wake-up call; in it, a number of concert goers suffered injuries, not to mention outright terror, while waiting to enter the building. In reality, The Who's concert that December day was the result of a perfect storm; many factors contributed and Fuller examines them. In the end, we're left to ponder the whys and the wherefores. Mr. Fuller does an outstanding job of both enlightening and forcing us to question our priorities and try to make sense out of the unthinkable. Are the kids all right?: The rock generation and its hidden death wish