King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era Book

In 1974, the academy award-winning film The Sting brought back the music of Scott Joplin, a black ragtime composer who died in 1917. Led by The Entertainer, one of the most popular pieces of the mid-1970s, a revival of his music resulted in events unprecedented in American musical history. Never before had any composer's music been so acclaimed by both the popular and classical music worlds. Written by Edward A. Berlin, a renowned authority on ragtime, this extraordinary book has been quickly accepted as the definitive work on Joplin's life and music. It reads almost like a detective story as Berlin leads us through a succession of clues, deductions, and discoveries, producing startling new information unsuspected by previous Joplin biographers. Painting a vivid picture of the ragtime years and placing Scott Joplin in his historical context, King of Ragtime brings to life the story of a post-Civil War African American who found in the world of music a way out of poverty and lowly social status.Read More