The book was published in the United States under the title Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture.

[1] Chapter 1 In the book's first chapter, titled "A Tale of Three Cities: Detroit Techno, Chicago House, and New York Garage", Reynolds demonstrates the emergence of electronic music, looking specifically at the cities of Detroit, Chicago, and New York, all three of which were key to the development of this dance-focused genre.

In Detroit, both the industrial (past) and post-industrial (present) milieu led emerging DJs to play around with mechanical, futuristic, and technological sounds, having also been inspired by the proliferation of science-fiction media, leading to the creation of techno.

In Chicago, house was characterized by repetitive beats, drum machines, and synthesizers, which were heavily used by DJs to create new, exciting sounds for the city's underground gay club scene, which demanded sonic innovation as the disco era waned (although as stated in the reading, never really died).

While electronic beats were still thoroughly used, garage also emphasized the use of R&B and soul female vocals, adhering to a more traditional musical style as opposed to house and techno.