Reading Lyrics

"With around 170 lyricists on offer, the book makes its share of worthwhile rediscoveries . . . That's the fun of Reading Lyrics. Readers can hum along with songs they know, while songs they don't will have them hurrying off to the nearest music megastore." --The New York Times Book Review "Reading Lyrics defies literary categorization. It's reference work. It's a singalong book. It's a shadow history of taste and mores over much of the past century. It's a valentine to a now-vanished artistic craft. And it's an act of fond provocation." --The Boston Globe "This wondrous and magical concoction is highly recommended." --The Wall Street Journal

"Both a groundbreaking social document and its own pleasure dome. Its 706 pages confirm the accomplishments of the greats, but they also provide surprises." --The New Yorker

"Sparklingly entertaining, Reading Lyrics exalts the lyrical sublimity of such cunning wordsmiths as Porter, Gershwin, and Coward." --Vanity Fair

"This music is an amazing art form; it's a substantial cultural phenomenon." --Newsweek

"What joy! No sooner do the lyrics appear before one's eyes than reading gives way to song." --Billboard Magazine

"One of the finest collections of words there is. To quote P.G. Wodehouse, 'And I wish someday I could find my way/To the land where the good songs go.' That land is Reading Lyrics. 'S wonderful." --Newsday