Best non-fiction music books

Descrição
Readable, reasonably non-technical books about music-history, musicians, instruments, etc. (For musically-influenced novels, see the list "music to my eyes")
1
Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter
de Randy L. Schmidt
189 membros
12 resenhas
3.9
Member
dara85
2
Theft: A History of Music
de James Boyle
32 membros
3 resenhas
3.2
Member
hipdeep
3
Those Twentieth Century Blues: An Autobiography
de Michael Tippett
16 membros
5
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: One of the best-ever musical autobiographies, whatever you think of Tippett as a composer
4
Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven
de John Eliot Gardiner
713 membros
8 resenhas
½ 4.3
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Everything you would hope for in a book about Bach by one of his leading modern interpreters
5
Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs
de Dave Barry
455 membros
14 resenhas
3.9
Member
hipdeep
Explicações
hipdeep: I know it's basically opinion/humor writing, but it's nonfiction, and the question of "what makes a song bad" is both interesting and laugh-out-loud funny.
6
The Last Days of John Lennon
de James Patterson
263 membros
5 resenhas
½ 3.3
Member
dara85
7
Schubert's Songs: A Biographical Study
de Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
72 membros
4.1
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Not always the liveliest of writers, but no-one knew Schubert's songs better
8
World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music
de Jeff Tweedy
68 membros
4 resenhas
4.2
Member
hipdeep
9
Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader
de Lester Bangs
378 membros
2 resenhas
3.8
Member
hipdeep
10
Benjamin Britten: A Biography
de Humphrey Carpenter
154 membros
4 resenhas
3.9
Member
thorold
11
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century
de Greil Marcus
1,170 membros
13 resenhas
3.9
Member
hipdeep
12
Mozart's Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music
de Jane Glover
240 membros
9 resenhas
½ 3.5
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Very interesting account of Mozart's working relationships with singers and how they influenced his operas.
13
Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality
de Susan McClary
136 membros
3 resenhas
½ 3.3
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Classic postmodern feminist challenge to traditional musicology. More readable than it sounds...
14
Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band
de Christian Staebler
95 membros
7 resenhas
½ 3.7
Member
hipdeep
15
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk
de Legs McNeil
2,057 membros
24 resenhas
4.1
Member
hipdeep
16
Bessie Smith
de Jackie Kay
86 membros
1 resenha
½ 3.7
Member
thorold
17
Broken Horses: A Memoir
de Brandi Carlile
325 membros
12 resenhas
4.2
Member
hipdeep
18
Gustav Mahler: Memories and Letters
de Alma Mahler
140 membros
4 resenhas
4
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Of course it's more about Alma than about Gustav, but it's still fun
19
How To Play the Harmonica: and Other Life Lessons
de Sam Barry
22 membros
1 resenha
½ 4.3
Member
hipdeep
20
The composer as listener; a guide to music
de Irving Kolodin
10 membros
1 resenha
4
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Nice anthology of writings about music by Great Composers
21
Just Kids
de Patti Smith
5,497 membros
238 resenhas
4.1
Member
hipdeep
23
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
de Dave Grohl
1,192 membros
45 resenhas
½ 4.3
Member
hipdeep
24
Robert Schumann: Life and Death of a Musician
de John Worthen
39 membros
2 resenhas
½ 4.4
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Readable biography that avoids the temptation to get over-excited about the causes of Schumann's illness
25
Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story
de Bono
425 membros
14 resenhas
4
Member
hipdeep
26
Exploring Music: The Science and Technology of Tones and Tunes
de Charles Alfred Taylor
13 membros
Member
thorold
Explicações
thorold: Very approachable short guide to the physics and engineering of producing and hearing musical sounds.
27
Temperament: The Idea That Solved Music's Greatest Riddle
de Stuart M Isacoff
1 membro
Member
hipdeep
28
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
de Daniel J. Levitin
4,058 membros
67 resenhas
½ 3.7
Member
hipdeep