The Flamenco guitar;: From its birth in the hands of the guitarrero to its ultimate celebration in the hands of the Flamenco guitarist Hardcover – January 1, 1969

This is an oddly constructed little book about the writer's interaction with the flamenco community. It's vignettes are certainly nuggets of value to flamenco fans, in particular the segments on Diego del Gastor, a monumental guitarist probably totally unknown outside the community of flamenco followers, and Manuel Reyes, a leading member of the modern luthiery community. The book is totally required for flamenco guitar addicts (like me), and probably just a jumble of anecdotes for anyone else.

A great read for Flamenco fans

WARNING: EDITIONSThis review applies to the 4th printing of the book (c. 2004), but it may also appear in listings for other editions. In the latter case, only the remarks about "Background" and "Contents" apply. In particular, the remarks about photographic quality do not apply to earlier editions.BACKGROUNDBorn and raised in Wisconsin and trained as a cultural anthropologist, David George devoted himself for many years to the culture of Andalusia and particularly of the Gypsies; and the present volume was for many years one of the few authoritative books available in English. Like its contemporaries,  The Art of Flamenco , The Wind Cried  and  The Flamencos of Cadiz Bay , it is unlikely to be rivalled or superseded by any new account, for the way of life it documents is fast vanishing, indeed has already vanished in many places.CONTENTSThere is a good deal of interesting information on the Gypsies, their history and their music, much of it narrated in apparently verbatim transcriptions of conversations. Mr George is a gifted writer, and his accounts are full of life and atmosphere. Likewise, there is much about the history and construction of the flamenco guitar (although this is not a manual).But the centrepieces, if you will, of this book are two interviews: with the luthier Manuel Reyes — one of the truly great constructors of guitars — and with the now-legendary guitarist Diego del Gastor. I found them fascinating, even though I've already read a great deal about both men. Particularly entertaining are Diego's views on the hoards of students arriving in Morón every year for lessons.Much of the most interesting information in the book is in the end-notes, which compose fully 38 of its 131 pages. This makes for rather awkward reading, but it's worth it.PRESENTATIONThis, the 4th printing, is a reproduction of the original of 1969. I have to say that the quality of the reproduction is not good, being about equivalent to that of a fax. The technical quality of the photographs is even worse — not even as good as one could find in an average newspaper.The economics of republishing a book such as this — for what must surely be a relatively small market — are outside my area of competence. But if Mr George is unavailable, so too (presumably) are the originals of his photographs, and one must do one's best with what remains. Certainly it would be a pity to let a fine book such as this go out of print, and I recommend it despite its reproductive shortcomings.DISCLOSUREI received a free copy of this item for review.