The Blackboard Jungle: A Novel of Juvenile Delinquents by Evan Hunter, Paperback

A 1954 American social drama novel about an English teacher in an inner-city school. Hunter's novel was based on his early job as a teacher at Bronx Vocational High School in the South Bronx. Hunter, then known as Salvatore Lombino, took the teaching job in 1950 after graduating from college. He was quickly disillusioned and quit in frustration after two months. The film adaption of Blackboard Jungle was famous and controversial in part because of its portrayal of juvenile delinquency, but also because the opening credits featured the recording of Bill Haley’s classic record, Rock Around the Clock. Moralists were convinced that the film and the music would inspire juvenile delinquency. In the U.S., local communities tried to ban the film because they felt the soundtrack, and the film’s portrayal of juvenile delinquents would incite delinquency. On March 28, 1955, the city of Memphis banned Blackboard Jungle. And on May 17, 1955, students at Princeton University staged a “riot” by blasting Rock Around the Clock simultaneously from many dormitory windows.