I enjoyed skimming this scholarly review of the history, influences, and artists most central to this historical era of British and American folk music. Learning more about the connectedness of the two and details of familiar artists such as Pete Seeger, Alan Lomax, and the Weavers was enriching. Very detailed, however, for the general reader.

As a fan of music history I was eager to read this book. Ok it had been on my shelf for a long time but I was waiting for the right time to dip into it. I kind of wish I hadn’t now. It is not that the writers don’t know their stuff – they clearly do but Roots of the Revival which should have been a fascinating read about the history of folk music was just plain boring. I will tell you why – there seemed to be an over-emphasis on getting everything right. It felt like the writers were determined to make sure that every person who was at every event or moment in folk history was named. I felt like I was cycling through hummus trying to get through the tiresome lists that seemed to appear every chapter. A lot of these could have been added as footnotes. It made the reading experience boring.

Roots of the Revival by Rachel Donaldson and Ronald Cohen is available now.