Freelance choreographer Baim sets Argentina's cultural jewel, the tango, in an elegant, scholarly study that draws from primary-source materials such as dance instruction manuals, sheet music, and contemporary newspapers and periodicals. Six carefully researched chapters follow the tango from its origins, to its discovery by Europeans and North Americans, to Argentina's reclamation of its native dance, and on to its music, its connection to the waltz, and its place in the world of art music. Accented with two appendixes-one a description of tango steps circa 1911-25 and one a list of New York Times articles on the tango from 1911, 1913, and 1914-as well as a concise bibliography, this accessible and singular account manages to cover not only the history of the dance but also its cultural reception in both the New World and the Old. Performing arts and popular culture collections will have the most receptive audiences; recommended.-Carolyn M. Mulac
