Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono
Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin, to U2's unlikely journey to become one of the world's most influential rock bands, to his more than 20 years of activism in this intimate and profound memoir.

The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan 
Dylan offers his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music through a series of essays on songs by other artists that double as meditations and reflections on the human condition.

Folk Music: A Bob Dylan Biography in Seven Songs by Greil Marcus
Through seven of his most transformative songs, Marcus provides not only a deeply felt telling of the life and times of Bob Dylan, but a rich history of American folk songs and the new life they were given as Dylan sat down to write his own.

Charlie's Good Tonight: The Life, the Times, and the Rolling Stones: The Authorized Biography of Charlie Watts by Paul Sexton
One of the world's most revered and celebrated musicians of the last half century, Charlie Watts remained the rock at the heart of the Rolling Stones for nearly 60 years – the thoughtful, intellectual but no less compelling counterpoint to the raucousness of his bandmates.

Chuck Berry: An American Life by RJ Smith
This definitive biography of the legendary performer and rock and roll pioneer examines his St. Louis childhood and his transformative effect on American culture, as well as the more troubling aspects of his public and private life.

Punk Paradox: A Memoir by Greg Graffin
This is a historical memoir and cultural criticism of punk rock's evolution by the legendary singer-songwriter of Bad Religion, one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time.

Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll by Lenny Kaye
Musician and writer Lenny Kaye explores 10 crossroads of time and place (including 1959 Philadelphia) that define rock and roll, its unforgettable flashpoints, characters and visionaries, how each generation came to be, how it was discovered by the world.

The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop by Jonathan Abrams
This is the most comprehensive account so far of hip-hop's rise, from its origins on the playgrounds of the Bronx to its reign as the most powerful force in pop culture, told in the voices of the people who made it happen.

Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm by Dan Charnas with musical analysis by Jeff Peretz
Equal parts biography, musicology and cultural history, Dilla Time chronicles the life and legacy of J Dilla, a musical genius who created a new kind of musical time-feel that transformed the sound of popular music for the 21st century.

Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
A soulful, enriching portrait of the Black women geniuses who shaped American pop music, Shine Bright is an overdue paean to the musical masters whose true stories and genius have been hidden in plain sight.

Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be by Marissa R. Moss
This is the full and unbridled story of the past 20 years of country music seen through the lens of the trailblazing women whose paths to stardom and battles against a deeply embedded boys' club transformed the genre into a more inclusive place.

The Hag: The Life, Times, and Music of Merle Haggard by Marc Eliot
This book explores the uniquely American life of an angry rebellious boy from the wrong side of the tracks bound for a life of crime and a permanent home in a penitentiary, who found redemption through the music of "the common man."

Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir by Jann S. Wenner
Rolling Stone founder, editor and publisher Jann Wenner offers a memoir from the heart of the rock and roll generation: from the triumphs of the Beatles and the Stones to Bono and the Boss, from Burning Man to the White House.

The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond by Chris Blackwell
This is a lyrical, warmhearted and inspirational memoir from the founder of Island Records about his astonishing life and career helping to bring reggae music to the world stage and working with Bob Marley, U2, Grace Jones, Cat Stevens and many other icons.

O Say Can You Hear? A Cultural Biography of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Mark Clague
This is a fascinating story of how "The Star-Spangled Banner" rose to become the nation's one and only anthem and an examination of how its meaning reflects – and is reflected by – the nation's quest to become a more perfect union.

The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music by Tom Breihan
This book offers a fascinating narrative of the history of popular music through the lens of game-changing #1 singles from the Billboard Hot 100.

This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
Take a journey into the science and soul of music that reveals the secrets of why your favorite songs move you by Susan Rogers, one of the most successful female record producers of all time and now an award-winning professor of cognitive neuroscience.

Wired for Music: A Search for Health and Joy Through the Science of Sound by Adriana Barton
In this captivating blend of science and memoir, a health journalist and former cellist explores music as a source of health, resilience, connection and joy.

Beethoven in Beijing: Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra's Historic China Journey by Jennifer Lin
In 1973, Western music was banned in the People's Republic of China. But in a remarkable breakthrough cultural exchange, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted a tour of closed-off China. Beethoven in Beijing provides a fabulous photo-rich oral history of this boundary-breaking series of concerts the orchestra performed under famed conductor Eugene Ormandy.

Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld by T. J. English
For the first half of the century mobsters and musicians enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership. Although the mob provided artists like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald opportunities that would not otherwise have existed at the heart of this relationship was a festering racial inequity.