American Band: Music, Dreams, and Coming of Age in the Heartland

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 336 pages
• Published by: Gotham August 2, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1592403190
• ASIN: B0013VZID4
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
In 2004, first-time author Laine immersed herself in Elkhart, Indiana's Concord High School Marching Minutemen, a 240-plus ensemble preparing to defend its state title, and emerges with a detailed and intimate account that delves deep into the rarified world of competitive high school marching and the students, parents and teachers devoted to it. Max Jones is the band's hard-nosed director, in his final season at Concord, and just beginning to fall out of touch with his young charges; students, meanwhile, juggle social and spiritual concerns with their all-consuming commitment to the Minutemen (practicing more hours than even the football players). In the stories of a trumpeter whose mother contracts terminal cancer, a clarinetist who longs for her native California and a drum-line captain who aspires to West Point, Laine finds an intriguing sample of small-town, red-state Middle America's next generation. Her descriptions of field performances-from the earliest planning stages to their in-competition execution-are intricate, but fail to convey their power or majesty; in addition, Laine's emphasis on narrative observation over direct quotes gives the work a magazine feature feel. Still, Laine brings passion, curiosity and affection to her heartland chronicle, ideal for anyone who's ever marked time with an instrument at the ready.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Madeleine Blais, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle
American Band has everything going for it, from tempo to heart to the grand bittersweet finale. What a gift for readers: a pitch-perfect tribute to kids and song and community. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: American Band: Music, Dreams, and Coming of Age in the Heartland (Hardcover) A well-written book makes a topic I would not have thought interesting very engaging indeed. Although the band is well-covered, I and others may find the profile of students in a changing town more compelling. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)