Polymath Books

2009 marked the 70th anniversary of Marian Anderson's historic performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Today, we look at her l...

2010 ended with a most audible of shifts, and it came from the throats of Katy Perry, Ke$ha and Lady Gaga. All three pop stars have at least...

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s album “Double Fantasy” heralded Lennon’s renewed interest in making music after a five-year hiatus from the publi...

The myths surrounding Pink Floyd co-founder and infamous recluse Syd Barrett have been as enduring as his music. Today, author Rob Chapman t...

New York may be the birthplace of hip-hop, but the latest sounds are coming from further south. Today on Soundcheck: a new photography book ...

He’s the co-founder of The Police, a tireless advocate for human rights and one of the handsomest men in rock. He also did that lute album. ...

Composer John Cage's experiments with noise and silence divided critics and listeners, but a new biography focuses on the facts of his l...

“Begin Again,” a new biography of John Cage, takes a comprehensive look at the experimental artist. Instead of critiquing his music, author ...

The idea for our Vanished Venues series came from the new Max’s Kansas City book, which got me thinking about all the great old music clubs ...

Yesterday on the show, author Jennifer Egan was talking about her new novel, A Visit From the Goon Squad, where music and the music business...

Complex friendships formed the core of the Fab Four. After the group split up, those personal and business relationships grew competitive an...

Writing a book about the Beatles is to enter a crowded market. But Philip Norman’s new 851-page biography, “John Lennon: The Life” is gettin...

Few women in the history of music have inspired as much controversy as Yoko Ono. Some say she broke up The Beatles. Others say she saved Joh...