In SAVAGES, Don Winslow introduced Ben and Chon, twenty-something best friends who risk everything to save the girl they both love, O. Among the most celebrated thrillers in recent memory --- and now a major motion picture directed by Academy Award–winning filmmaker Oliver Stone --- Savages was picked as a best book of the year by Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly, Janet Maslin in The New York Times, and Sarah Weinman in the Los Angeles Times.

Now, in this high-octane prequel, Winslow reaches back in time to tell the story of how Ben, Chon and O became the people they are. Spanning from 1960s Southern California to the recent past, THE KINGS OF COOL is a breathtakingly original saga of family in all its forms --- fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, friends and lovers. As the trio at the center of the book does battle with a cabal of drug dealers and crooked cops, they come to learn that their future is inextricably linked with their parents’ history. A series of breakneck twists and turns puts the two generations on a collision course, culminating in a stunning showdown that will force Ben, Chon and O to choose between their real families and their loyalty to one another.

Fast-paced, provocative and wickedly funny, THE KINGS OF COOL is a spellbinding love story for our times from a master novelist at the height of his powers. It is filled with Winslow’s trademark talents --- complex characters, sharp dialogue, blistering social commentary --- that have earned him an obsessive following. The result is a book that will echo in your mind and heart long after you’ve turned the last page.