A musician of Willson's considerable talent and achievements deserves a better book than this one, but unfortunately there is no other. This is really a chamber of commerce puff piece about the favorite son of Mason City, Iowa. There is no serious, detailed analysis of Willson's work. The style is that of newspaper Sunday supplements, repetitious and superficial. It is also sprinkled with errors. Some of them may be the result of careless proofreading, but others are clearly the author's mistakes. For example, Frank Morgan played the wizard not the tin man in "The Wizard of Oz"; Suppe's overture is "Light Cavalry" not "Light Calvary"; WACs were not in the Women's Air Corps, but Women's Army Corps; the famous "Command Performance" of "Dick Tracy in B-flat" was 60 minutes long, not 90, and bits of the dialogue are inaccurately quoted; and tape recording did not come to the US until after World War II. With this many easily spotted mistakes, one has to wonder about the accuracy of the entire book.

This wonderful biography is now available, and has been since December 2000. I understand the first printing is almost gone, but that a second printing is being ordered now. It is one of the finest musical biographies ever written, and I highly recommend it.

The author, John Skipper, can be contacted to sign your copy at sandras63@home.com. He signed mine and loves to talk about Willson and his work.

I will tell you flat out, I was the acquisitions editor for this book. It is the most enjoyable, exciting project I have worked on in years, and everyone interested in music, biography, success stories, and character should read it.

Everyone has heard of, seen, or been in, "The Music Man." This book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the man who wrote it, and the man himself. It is utterly fascinating.

Meredith Willson marched into the hearts of Americans with unforgettable productions like The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and show tunes like "Seventy-Six Trombones." John C. Skipper's Meredith Willson: The Unsinkable Music Man is the first biography chronicling this remarkable American success story. Determined to make his mark on the world, the 18-year-old Willson left Iowa aboard a train bound for New York and fame and fortune with only a few dollars in his pocket and a bent piccolo in his travel bag. He returned as one of the most famous stars of his era. Many people think Willson's career began and ended with The Music Man. In fact, it spanned several decades and included radio and television. For example, Willson . . .

--Played flute and piccolo in the John Philip Sousa band in New York without a formal audition;

--Helped scientist Lee deForest develop an invention that led to sound for motion pictures;

--Worked as music director on several popular radio programs, including the Burns and Allen show;

--Wrote the music for The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin's first "talkie" movie;

--Wrote and recorded several number one songs, and another was recorded by the Beatles;

--Was the youngest conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra;

--Won the first Grammy award ever presented.

Skipper chronicles Willson's entire life, from his fascinating childhood in Mason City ("River City") Iowa, to his final years in southern California. Meredith Willson: The Unsinkable Music Man is the amazing story of how a youngster with talent and tenacity, mindful of his father's challenge to be a pioneer (and possessed with what he would later call a streak of "Iowa stubborn") rose to become one of America's most famous and endearing musicians. It is a tale you will never forget.