Few things tell us more about ourselves than the music we listen to, a fact that Tom Cox has demonstrated brilliantly in his acclaimed Observer column, The Lost Tribes of Pop. Extended from that column, Cox's beautifully illustrated book presents a unique and hilarious vision of the current pop climate, via the people who really make it what it is: the fans.

From Dave, the Old School Goth, and Charlie, the iPod Twit, to Nancy, the Rave Mom, and Margot, the First-time Gigger, Lost Tribes is an endlessly entertaining and curious mix of social stereotypes, in all their flawed, obsessive, identity-searching glory. Some are idiotic.

There are plenty of books about people behind the music. The Lost Tribes of Pop is different: it's a book about the people in front of it. It's the work of a major writing talent, and a must-have for any music fan.