Right out of the gate, I can tell you that I recommend this book to anyone. Author Mike Evans does a great job laying out the history of the blues according to sub-genre, artist, and chronology. Just as pleasing as the writing, the photographs, vintage flyers and posters, and illustrations bring the music and artists to life. Evans mixes things up with a very aesthetically pleasing book (as the title implies) beyond merely the images. The book itself is large with many full page photographs and quotes or descriptions to accompany. There are also artist profiles throughout the book for a quick look and the blues' biggest names.
The writing is a bit dry at times and Evans sticks to a mostly descriptive style. However, for blues fans this is easy to overlook. The book is dense with history and keeps you turning the page. It is a relatively short book (256 pages with the text taking up no more than half of any given page) but I found myself taking longer to finish it that I thought I would. I wanted to take the time to read every image description and study the photographs. I tried to throw myself into the period and situation of every section. It was immensely enjoyable.
It is worth mentioning here that contributing editor on The Blues: A Visual History was Robert Gordon who is a seasoned blues historian and author of (among others) Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters, which I hope to soon read. Evans himself is also author of many other works in musicology.
I give this great book a rating of 4.5 stars. If you are a veteran blues fan there might be a lot of history in here that you are already aware of but the visuals give it a breath of new life. Please, check for this book at your local library or book store.
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