Guitar: The World’s Most Seductive Instrument

Schiller (The Little Zen Companion) delivers a delightful photographic survey of 200 famous and innovative guitars. Each page profiles a different instrument, with simple specs including model, builder, and type, as well as trivia about which musicians played them. Revered guitarists such as Robert Johnson, Joni Mitchell, and Carlos Santana are profiled alongside the guitars that they made famous (Gibson 1928 L-1 archtop, Martin 1941 acoustic, and solid-body electric 1980 Paul Reed Smith, respectively). A basic outline of guitar anatomy helps demystify terms for those less familiar with the instrument, but uninitiated readers would be served by a broader history of guitar design and evolution. Guitar nerds will love photos of coveted vintage models including the Hagstrom P46 Deluxe (played by both Elvis and Kurt Cobain), as well as a “Rocky” Stratocaster painted by the Beatles’ George Harrison and used on Rubber Soul and the Magical Mystery Tour TV special. Most guitars featured are older, with the exception of guitarist St. Vincent’s 2016 Ernie Ball Music Man, which she designed to better fit the female body. Eye-catching experimental models, meanwhile, will surprise enthusiasts, among them the bodyless and headless Gittler electric, which resembles a xylophone. This volume would make an excellent conversation piece on any guitar enthusiast’s coffee table. (Oct.)