Rolling Stone and the Rise of Hip Capitalism: How a Magazine Born in the 1960s Changed America

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Charles L. Ponce de Leon

Rolling Stone and the Rise of Hip Capitalism

How a Magazine Born in the 1960s Changed America

Charles L. Ponce de Leon

$69.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

The University of North Carolina Press
13 July 2026

History of the Americas; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Society & Social Sciences; Media studies; Ethnic studies

In its early years, Rolling Stone stood out on the magazine rack: an iconoclastic bimonthly aimed at young Americans, dedicated to music, culture, and politics. Magazine cofounder Jann Wenner’s vision of a magazine that blended politics with sophisticated coverage of rock music and related social and cultural trends was groundbreaking and a surprising commercial success, turning the brash young publisher into the era’s quintessential “hip capitalist.”

This is a history of Rolling Stone’s heyday, from its founding in 1967 to its twentieth anniversary, examining its coverage of notable social, cultural, and political developments and the contributions of its distinguished and often brilliant writers—from Greil Marcus and Hunter S. Thompson to William Greider and P. J. O'Rourke. It also reveals how, in response to shifts in its audience, the magazine industry, and the broader culture, Rolling Stone gradually changed, becoming more successful but also less innovative and influential. In the magazine’s prime, however, Wenner and company showed how a thoughtful, irreverent magazine could attract advertisers as well as readers and spread sixties-inspired values into the mainstream.

By: Charles L. Ponce de Leon
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 25mm, Spine: 155mm
ISBN: 9781469694399
ISBN 10: 1469694395
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 13 July 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Charles L. Ponce de Leon is the author of several books, including Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley and That’s the Way It Is: A History of Television News in America.

Reviews for Rolling Stone and the Rise of Hip Capitalism: How a Magazine Born in the 1960s Changed America

""Ponce de Leon brilliantly contextualizes the history of Rolling Stone while attending to the broader historical transformations that had swept up the magazine by the time of Reagan's ascent. A brilliant examination of the 1960s and its legacies.""--Andrew Hartman, author ofKarl Marx in America