“A contemplative journey through the history of folk, country, blues and rock ’n’ roll.” —JUDY BERMAN, Salon
“In this sharply observed, intensely felt audio-travelogue, Americana emerges less as a sound or musical genre than as an imaginary country, a dreamland superimposed over the real U.S.A., a salve for that feeling of hollowness that haunts modern urban existence.” —SIMON REYNOLDS, author of Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984
“Like a smart, genial Persephone, Amanda Petrusich wanders the underworld of American roots music and reports back her insights with an open mind and an open heart.” —ANTHONY DECURTIS, contributing editor, Rolling Stone
“A terrific piece of travel writing. Amanda Petrusich takes us on a tour through the roots of American rural music, stopping at eccentric motels, visiting mythic sites of recording sessions and reciting heroic tales of song-catching and villainous accounts of song-stealing.” —JOE BOYD, The Guardian
