(Univ. of Illinois Press, 2004) 356 pp. Mr. Goldsmith, a North Carolinian and frequent contributor to Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine, has done a nice job in gathering a wide assortment of articles written over a period of 35 years by an impressive list of writers that includes Neil Rosenberg, Bill Vernon, Rick Kienzle, Peter Wernick, Marty Stuart, Charles Wolfe, Ralph Rinzler, Joe Wilson, Mike Seeger, Bob Artis and many others. There are some 64 different articles, mostly ranging from two to eight pages each. Many of the articles are devoted to one artist, others are of a regional or topical interest ("Dayton Bluegrass", "Bristol's WCYB", "New York Bluegrass") and even John Duffey's rant against tape recorders finds a place here. It's unlikely that even the most enthusiastic Bluegrass fan will have seen all these articles before. A fine and important volume for any Bluegrass fan.
