This is a new edition of the 1975 book that inspired the recent Holly movie and that Rolling Stone called “the best rock biography ever.” I find that praise overly lavish, since Goldrosen writes rather dryly and fails to intersperse his facts with enough analysis for my taste. Nevertheless, his book is carefully researched, accurate, and readable; and it comes complete with a first-rate discography and lots of rarely seen photos. I do recommend it, and I thank the author for helping to keep alive his subject’s wonderful, extremely influential music.