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  • Guitar Genius: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid-Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World by Kim Tomsic
  • Elizabeth Bush
Tomsic, Kim Guitar Genius: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid-Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World; illus. by Brett Helquist. Chronicle, 2019 56p
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4521-5919-5 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4521-8018-2 $11.99
Reviewed from galleys Ad 6-9 yrs

Lester Polsfuss’ debut in the Waukesha, Wisconsin school music room didn’t bode well for his future; the piano teacher advised his parents in a note, “Your boy, Lester, will never learn music, so save your money.” Encouraged by his mother nonetheless, Les engaged in experiments on instruments alongside his performance practice, figuring out how to record and amplify music at home with repurposed castoffs and a toolbox. When his local career started, the need to project sound further became critical, and Les jiggered up a guitar from strings and a metal rail—too heavy to be practical, but successful in controlling vibration and feedback. Several iterations later, his guitar was a solid-body, wooden affair with enough cosmetic work to be recognizable to his audience (“The crowd went wild”). Tomsic’s text outlines the achievement of a kid whose invention did, in fact, influence music history. However, she stretches simplified explanations around this particular invention to unnecessary length, and she also relegates parallel work done on solid-state guitars to endnotes, along with many of Paul’s other engineering techniques, such as multitrack recording and overdubbing, that were at least as influential on the music this title’s audience listens to today. Helquist’s oils bubble with enthusiasm and frequently zoom in on the bits and pieces young Les tinkered with in the 1920s, making this a good match for kids with a DIY bent. A list of works cited is appended. [End Page 316]

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