The Devil's Box: Masters of Southern Fiddling (Vanderbilt/Country Music Foundation Press)

Rating:
Summary: Give Charles Wolfe a Dram
Review: Charles Wolfe's book will appeal to fiddlers, fans of old-time and country music, and music historians. Mark O'Connor's introduction provides an interesting contemporary perspective on the old-time music, and each chapter is a historical sketch of an important fiddler. When read as a whole, the book provides a good social history of fiddling and fiddlers from the South. I especially like the articles on the obscure but really important musicians, but the articles on fiddlers like Eck Robertson and Bob Wills are also great reading. The book is written in an enjoyable style, and Wolfe's knowledge of fiddling and music history is incredible.

Rating:
Summary: Give Charles Wolfe a Dram
Review: Charles Wolfe's book will appeal to fiddlers, fans of old-time and country music, and music historians. Mark O'Connor's introduction provides an interesting contemporary perspective on the old-time music, and each chapter is a historical sketch of an important fiddler. When read as a whole, the book provides a good social history of fiddling and fiddlers from the South. I especially like the articles on the obscure but really important musicians, but the articles on fiddlers like Eck Robertson and Bob Wills are also great reading. The book is written in an enjoyable style, and Wolfe's knowledge of fiddling and music history is incredible.

Rating:
Summary: Good research and writing by one of the best in this field.
Review: Well-written, well-researched accounts of fiddlers whose time has passed but whose reputations as masters of the instrument grow with time. A bonus is Wolfe's research on many early recordings of these musicians and how they came to be. Highly recommended for anyone remotely interested in the subject. This author knows his subject. I went looking for CD samples of their music, which wasn't easy to find but was worth the effort. Jim Travis, Nashville