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Title details for Guitar by Tim Brookes - Available

Guitar

An American Life

by Tim Brookes
ebook
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From humble folk instrument to American icon, the story of the guitar is told in this “exceptionally well-written” memoir by the NPR commentator (Guitar Player).
 
In this blend of personal memoir and cultural history, National Public Radio commentator Tim Brookes narrates the long and winding history of the guitar in the United States as he recounts his own quest to build the perfect instrument.
 
Pairing up with a master artisan from the Green Mountains of Vermont, Brookes learns how a perfect piece of cherry wood is hued, dovetailed, and worked on with saws, rasps, and files. He also discovers how the guitar first arrived in America with the conquistadors before being taken up by an extraordinary variety of hands: miners and society ladies, lumberjacks and presidents’ wives. In time, the guitar became America’s vehicle of self-expression. Nearly every immigrant group has appropriated it to tell their story.
 
“Part history, part love song, Guitar strikes just the right chords.” —Andrew Abrahams, People

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 1, 2007

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781555846138

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781555846138
      • File size: 2755 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 4, 2005
      When Brookes finds that his beloved guitar has been hopelessly damaged by airport baggage handlers, he sets off on a journey to find the perfect handmade instrument to replace it. Inspired by the vast array of choices, as well as by luthier Rick Davis ("a luthier is a guitar maker who charges $1,000 per guitar"), Brookes becomes enthralled with the relationship between the instrument and the people involved with it, and how that link has developed and changed over time. The author, a regular commentator on NPR's Sunday Weekend Edition
      , contrasts the story of a guitar being built from a few simple (yet carefully chosen) pieces of cherry wood with alternating chapters on the history of the instrument. In doing so, he reminds us that all instruments—even the iconic American guitar—are ever-changing. Instead of compiling a book filled with dates and anecdotes, Brookes wisely chooses to focus on personalities, like Rick, the economics student turned Vermont guitar builder; Joseph Kekuku, the Hawaiian inventor of the slide guitar; and Jimi Hendrix, who, by lighting his guitar on fire, provided evidence of "the electricity of the music" and "combined it with a kind of ritual sacrifice." Finally, Brookes receives his finished guitar, and readers share in his joy as well as in the feeling of continuing a long tradition of music history. Agent, Henry Dunow.

    • Library Journal

      January 1, 2005
      Regularly heard on National Public Radio, Brookes waxes lyrical about a beloved instrument as he traces its history in America since the days of the Colonists.

      Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from April 1, 2005
      Brookes, a commentator for National Public Radio, lost a close companion when baggage handlers destroyed his acoustic guitar. Soon after, he sought out a master luthier in Vermont to make a replacement -a process that led the author to investigate the history of the guitar, from Spanish conquistadors to rock'n'rollers. While trying to unravel the instrument's symbolic associations for players and music fans alike, Brookes works closely with his luthier, who aimed to apply Old World techniques. In weaving the two stories together, the author touches on many of the guitar's essential elements in popular culture, drawing on interviews with historians, other luthiers, and curators. Much more than a collection of wood, metal bits, and hide glue, the guitar is a singular instrument that can arouse or move a listener emotionally; it can be used for accompaniment or as a solo instrument. Finally, for many listeners, the guitar has provided a soundtrack to their lives. Brookes captures this near-total fascination in a highly readable, compelling book. Recommended for all public libraries and all specialized music collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ "1/05.] -Eric C. Shoaf, Brown Univ. Lib., Providence

      Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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