Writing about something as multifaceted as the history of rock and roll is a daunting task. Fortunately, historian Ward (NPR's Fresh Air; coauthor, Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll) is up to it. In this book, the author provides a broad overview of the musical, social, and cultural forces occurring throughout the United States in the early 20th century that ultimately gave rise to this new art form. He traces trends in folk, country, jazz, and blues music that come together in various permutations, how the music was created, recorded, and performed, and how advances in music recording and radio technology influenced the way musicians and fans consumed it all. Furthermore, he describes in great detail how rock and roll spread to its most important foreign outpost, England. This book's chosen endpoint is the eve of the much-celebrated British Invasion in the 1960s. Thanks to the author's talents, however, the book never feels weighed down by excruciating detail. Rather, the narrative moves at a brisk, almost breathless pace that is easy to get caught up in. VERDICT In less than 400 pages, Ward weaves multiple threads in American music history into a book all music fans will enjoy.—Brett Rohlwing, Milwaukee P.L.