Guitar by David Schiller

A very handsome book that comes in a slipcase, Guitar is THE book for guitar enthusiasts. Guitar showcases 200 instruments in colour, along with everything you would want to know about each guitar. Who built it, what makes it special, what to look for.

All the important guitars in here. Leo Fender’s Broadcaster, Les Paul’s Log, and the trio of ‘Martins’ that have been copied by every important guitar builder since. Guitar’s owned by famous musicians feature in the book – Eric Clapton’s ‘Brownie’, Princes ‘Yellow Cloud’, Willie Nelson’s ‘Trigger’ and George Harrison’s hand-painted ‘Rocky’.

Then there are the hard-carved jazz guitars, and quirky, one-of-a-kind guitars like Linda Manzer’s Pikasso II with four necks and 42 strings.

There are also profiles for 24 players, from Charlie Christian to Robert Johnson, BB King to Jimmy Page, Wes Montgomery to Bonnie Raitt.

Author David Schiller has done a superb job bringing all this information together. This is the perfect gift for any guitar lover. The book claims that the guitar is the world’s most seductive instrument, and this book goes a long way towards possibly explaining why.

Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Workman, RRP $79.99