Boogie Man by Charles Shaar Murray

Boogie Man, The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century
by Charles Shaar Murray

I love reading musician biographies, they're often fun and easy reading, if lacking in depth and ambition. I should have known that a book by Charles Shaar Murray wouldn't be such a picnic. Boogie Man is deep, intricate, non linear and utterly fascinating. I've spent the last few weeks rediscovering John Lee's music alongside the book, and learning about a man whose one life decision to never change carried him from rags to riches (with an emphasis on rags for a hell of a long time). This is not a book for you if you have only a cursory interest in John Lee and his music, but it's well worth a read if you're a blues fan. Just don't expect to read it in three days.