A very different sort of book on bebop – one that looks at the music during its key years of midcentury, but through a very different prism than the sorts of all-star players who usually get most coverage by jazz writers! Author Jonathan Leal digs very deep to uncover three obscure players who cross race, cultural, and creative lines – Raul Salinas, Harold Wing, and James Araki – figures who were not huge on the scene, but who intersected with some very big names – and whose experiences here really enrich an understanding of the social possibilities offered by jazz at the time. Leal gets past the platitudes about the music and opens up the communities and opportunities created by jazz – tracing the histories of each of these three unique and overlooked players, while also putting their individual experiences in a larger context too. The notes alone are huge – really showing the work that Leal put into the project – and the book is 238 pages, softcover, with a small amount of black and white images. Book

The legendary Iceberg Slim has given us plenty of his own story over the years – but this book is the first to look at the man behind the man – writer Robert Beck, who started as a pimp and became a surprisingly successful author – as well as an underground figure who inspired a later generation of hip hop artists as well! If you've ever read any of Slim's books, you'll know the world that he came from – but author Justin Gifford gets past the hype of the character, and looks at Beck's background and upbringing, his sometimes less-than-successful career as a hustler, and his move to convey the spirit of the streets on paper. Gifford's an academic, but presents the book in a nicely lively style – and the whole thing is hardcover, 265 pages, with some black and white images. Book