The acoustic guitar is a completely different animal from its electric cousin. Though big-box companies such as Fender, Gibson, and ESP tend to build most of the electrics, acoustic instruments fall into the hands of smaller, independent lathers (notwithstanding the remarkable guitars built by companies like Martin and Taylor). Here, Simmons runs through the history of the acoustic beginning with C.F. Martin, Sr., back in 1833 and details the evolution of the instrument through various phases and incarnations, including the origins of the steel string, the rise of small factories, and the ultimate advent of the one-man operation.

Included here is text on guitar builders including Ervin Somogyi, Michihiro Matsuda, Kathy Wingert, and others. There are a plethora of astonishing photos accompanying articulate and well-researched text.

If you've ever strummed an acoustic and wanted to understand why you're holding one, you need to read this.