Gary Giddins is a well known jazz critic but in this collection his interests are extremely far-ranging, from Clint Eastwood to Eudora Welty. What makes him a fine writer is his generosity and insight. He writes like a friend who wants to share something he loves with you, yet at the same time he is a terrible exacting critic. Perhaps his greatest attribute is his wit; sections of this book are very funny. His essay on Jack Benny is a classic. But he can be hilarious when you don't expect, for example is writing about literary biographers (Katherine Anne Porter), or on Elmore Leonard's stylistic overkill, and a discussion of the pedants who are rewriting Faulkner. Of course, he is always good on music and his section on divas--Billie Holiday (who can be seen on the cover), Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Kay Starr--is moving and beautiful. This is a wonderful book.