First published in 2001 and now updated and expanded, Tony Bacon's History of the American Guitar (Backbeat Books) begins in New York City in the 1830s with the arrival of Christian Martin, from Germany, to set up the Martin company.
Echo and Twang (192 pages, $19.95), a book edited by guitar expert Tony Bacon, plugs you into a decade in popular music and pop culture that simply could not have happened without the electric guitar.