there are few books on the carter family, which is incredibly sad considering their talent and impact on american music. this book is definitely better than nothing, one learns all of the basics about the family and their music. but, i found the writing frustrating -- the author did not sound like a serious historian or music writer. he used the colloquial language too much (i.e. things like "she was the prettiest gal around") it was obvious that this is not the way he himself would normally talk or write (he's definitely not a local), thus it made it sound trite and tokenizing to me. he could learn a great deal from joe klein's woody guthrie biography, which is a much more seriously attempted and well done historical book. ( )

Delightful story of the Carter Family. Moments that are touching, funny and sometimes even sad, particularly learning about A.P. towards the end of his life. A must for any fan of music. ( )