Well-written history of the instrument that includes lots of anecdotes and arcane information, but also a look at the guitar's place in American music and social history. Fun and a good gift for a music lover ( )

If you are or ever have been in a committed relationship with a guitar, then you'll probably love this book too.

Tim Brookes seamlessly weaves two stories for us: a journey of discovery as we follow the hand-made construction of a new guitar for him by master-guitar-maker, Rick Davis; and a deep retrospective on the history of the guitar (predominantly focused on America, but necessarily reeling in influences from around the world).

There are many surprises to discover here - unless you are already and accomplished luthier or professor of music. For example, I never appreciated the significance of Hawaiian music in re-establishing the guitar as a popular instrument from the 1930's (and probably inventing "lead guitar" in the process). Actually, it's probably more accurate to say I never appreciated the Hawaiian steel/slide guitar style in the first place, and always thought it was a niche oddity of the 50's.

Tim's relatively unbiased and inclusive history is a breath of fresh air. From Mariachi to Metal, Blues to Baroque, Flamenco to Folk - it's all here, and the relationships and historical precedents are brought vividly and clearly to life.
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As far as historical books go -- and in my view, most of them are dull as boards -- this is a truly fascinating if not exhaustive look at the guitar's trek through all manners of American society.

It works because Brookes intersperses the historical chapters with the story of the building of his own custom guitar by a Vermont luthier, and somehow, though the technical information provided is detailed and a little surprising, it's the history that becomes most interesting as the book progresses.

The major problem with the book, though, is that the author has an unabashed bias against the electric guitar: the book traces mostly the history of the private or small performance, eschewing much about large-scale performance until much later, and really only scratching the surface of the electric's history except for detailing the role of effects in shaping its sound. He's an acoustic purist, through and through, and his history mostly traces the development of acoustic music -- folk, blues, jazz, etc. -- and only skims much of rock and roll, and especially heavy metal and punk.

But Brookes's style is so endearing and his storytelling ability so strong that it's hard to notice these things until very late in the story -- and frankly, by that time, the narratives have been so enthralling that it's hard to really hold that much against him.

A great read, especially for the guitar lover, who will inevitably find himself loving his axe even more when he puts this book down to pick his instrument up.

Tim Brookes interweaves a story of the building of his custom-built guitar, information on the parts and acoustics of a guitar, and a history of the guitar and related string instruments. In his history Brookes is not shy in giving his opinions on the quality of the different "eras" of guitar playing. This book combines all of the aspects that I believe make a successful popular non-fiction/history book: readability, interesting facts, and informed opinions that may not always conform exactly to the "expected". ( )