Louis Armstrong: Musician

by Sam Tanenhaus

A biography of the famous trumpeter who was one of the first great improvisers in jazz history

127 pages, Library Binding

First published July 1, 1988

About the author

Sam Tanenhaus is the editor of both The New York Times Book Review and the Week in Review section of the Times. From 1999 to 2004 he was a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, where he wrote often on politics.

His work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The New York Review of Books, and many other publications. Tanenhaus’s previous book, Whittaker Chambers: A Biography, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Reviews

[Mary Helene · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 4th grade granddaughter chose this book for a nonfiction book report. It is quite definitely not a child's book, but a skillfully presented biography, rich in details but with a narrative line which organizes the flow; one can read carefully or float for the flavor. It's a short text but short does not mean it is meant for school age audience.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nice book to get a general overview of Armstrong's life. I am not sure if this book is geared towards older adolescence readers, but I still enjoyed it greatly as an adult.