'At last somebody has written the real history of the last ten years, and written it with such wit, verve, empathy and profound intelligence. I can't recommend this marvellous piece of work enough and in a sane world it would sell more copies than any other book written over the last decade' - Irvine Welsh'The first full history of the dance boom which, fuelled by Ecstasy, has transformed British culture over the past decade: here you will also find the drive to transcendence, or oblivion, that is at the heart of British pop' - Jon Savage'A tale as irresistible as the culture that inspired it' - Wired'Altered State is not just timely; it was crying out to be written' - Independent'This is the (as near as you can get it) definitive tale of E, acid house, 1988 and all that' - Loaded'Though brilliant, Altered States is sad and slightly scary in its inevitable sense of comedown to the bleak realities from which rave culture is a mere temporary solace' - Vox'Perhaps the most important document written about contemporary British society' - The Scotsman'The best and most detailed history of the largest youth culture phenomenon Britain has ever seen, a culture which has changed young people's leisure habits forever and warped all popular culture beyond recognition' - Mix Mag'Turns an admirably steely investigative eye on the criminal takeover of the Ecstasy infrastructure' - Independent on Sunday'Sends all those imitation Irvines from the football-hooligan school of literary E-endeavours straight to the back of the class' - The FaceFrom its first publication in 1997, Altered State established itself as the definitive text on dance culture. This second edition includes accounts of the election campaign of Tony Blair which used an Ecstary anthem as its musical theme, and the trial and acquittal of a 19-year-old for supplying the drug that killed Leah Betts, and her links to East End gangsters.Drawing on a wealth of background research and original interviews with key figures on both sides of the law, Altered State examines the causes and contexts, ideologies and myths of Ecstasy culture, dramatising its euphoric narrative from peak experience to comedown and aftermath, and shedding new light on the social history of the most spectacular youth movement of the century.