"Has any other practicing critic covered more territory over the last 40 years than John Rockwell?...As practical journalism, his assessments have much to admire; they are consistently judicious, knowledgeable, generous and balanced. This book also provides a valuable record of the cultural period through which we have just passed: an enthusiastic verbal snapshot album of everyone from Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to Shostakovich and Mark Morris. Finally, it offers invaluable insights into the evolution and career of a working critic, one who has survived the many fashion shifts in pop and high culture by remaining optimistic and young at heart." - Phillip Lopate, The New York Times Book Review