| Publication Overview By Ralph McLean, 17 September 2006
If you're reading this column, chances are country music plays at least a little part in your life.
But just what kind of country really floats your boat? Are you a hardcore hillbilly, a Shania fan or a Steve Earle believer?
Does the sound of old time fiddles and banjos get you polishing your cowboy boots with glee or do you prefer your country with a little western swing?
It's not easy is it? What if you're all those things and more, like me? There are so many different types of country music out there it can get pretty confusing at times.
That's where a great book like Country Music The Complete Visual History comes in.
Edited by noted country authorities Paul Kingsbury and Alanna Nash and featuring a heartfelt foreword by Willie Nelson, it's the kind of book you'll keep coming back to for years and years.
If you ever find yourself looking for the history of Tammy Wynette or a little background on the development of the pedal steel guitar this is the volume for you.
Trust me, the detail and information on offer here is mind boggling.
Published by DK books in conjunction with the ever reliable Country Music Hall Of Fame, it tells the whole history of what we know today as country music over 360 lovingly produced pages.
It's certainly a complex tale with everything from the earliest mountain music and bluegrass getting equal coverage alongside the big hitting names like Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks.
Over 12 informative chapters, it traces the journey that country has taken from rural entertainment to be enjoyed on the front porch to the global phenomenon it is today.
Thankfully, some of the less appreciated figures in that illustrious history receive much deserved credit. However late it might be, it's nice to know the likes of bluegrass legend Jimmy Martin and Lefty Frizzell haven't been forgotten by the country music establishment.
This is a book which is much more than a mere history lesson, however. Contained within those lushly printed pages are the kind of period photographs you'd be hard pushed to find outside of the country music hall of fame itself.
From dusty black and white snapshots of rural America at work and play to stunning portraits of country troubadours like Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings on stage, it's a visual feast for the eyes that delivers more every single time you open it.
It's an open-minded tome as well, with sections dedicated to the likes of Ray Charles, an often undervalued but hugely influential player in country and western history, and a few unlikely back room heroes into the bargain.
Whatever type of country music you like there's something special waiting for you in here and like the best of the music it can move you, thrill you and break your heart in the space of just a few minutes.
Now how many books can you honestly say that about?
Ralph presents the Ralph McLean Show every week day from 3pm on BBC Radio Ulster and McLean's Country every Saturday night from 8pm. Find out more at www.ralphmclean.com
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