good but flawed
while this is a helpful history of birth of blues, and while author does know his music, his research is sloppy. Being British, he obviously does not understand the American Constitution--on page 13 he stated a Supreme Court in 1883 "declared the 14th Amendment unconstitutional" which is impossible (if he did his homework they ruled on 1875 civils right act, not Amendment). On page 78, he confused Charles Turpin--a judge--with his brother Tom Turpin, who was the actual ragtime pianist. And on page 98, he doesn't even know his geography--Cairo Illinois is located at confluence of Ohio and Mississippi rivers, not Missouri and Mississippi. And the popular song was Frankie and Johnnie, not Frankie and Albert. Interesting book but flawed
