An encyclopedia of more than 100 guitars and the musicians who have mastered them.

Guitars and Heroes is organized by era, from the rockabilly pioneers to the guitar heroes of the future. Each chapter contains portraits of guitarists (past and present) and their favorite instruments. The authoritative text describes the musician's favored guitar or guitars and why they prefer them, often revealing a hidden facet of the musician's artistic approach.

Special photo spreads include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Prince, Billie Joe Armstrong, AC/DC, Les Paul, anatomy of a Stratocaster, 5 Replica Guitars; Burst, the world's most expensive guitar; 5 Most Desirable Amplifiers, 5 Pedals That Changed the World, 5 Groundbreaking Sounds, The Chicago Blues in 5 Albums, 5 Essential Hard Rock Albums and 5 Design Gibson Mistakes.

The book is organized into three sections (Birth of an Art, The Golden Age, Modern Times) and nine chapters, each with a selection of artists and their guitars, including these:

• Delta Blues and Rockabilly
  Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rogers, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly
• Chicago Blues and Jazz
  Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Trini Lopez, George Benson
• British Blues Boom
  Dave Davies, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Peter Green
• Surf, Garage Rock and Psychedelic
  Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Santana, Ry Cooder, Duane Allman
• Birth of Hard Rock
  Ritchie Blackmore, Neil Young, Brian May, Peter Frampton, Joan Jett
• Arena Rock, Shred and New Wave
  Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Edge, Joe Satriani, Slash
• Grunge and Alternative Rock
  Kurt Cobain, Buzz Osborne, Sonic Youth, Rivers Cuomo
• Metal to Djent
  Dimebag Darrell, John 5, Buckethead, Meshuggah, Tosin Abasi
• Guitar Heroes of the Future
  St. Vincent, Joe Bonamassa, Jack White, Ron Thal, Matthew Bellamy.

Guitars and Heroes is a sensational encyclopedia for all guitarists, guitar geeks, collectors and avid listeners, and an essential purchase for all collections.

Bitoun, Julien

Julien Bitoun is an accomplished self-taught musician, composer, music theorist, speaker and guitar teacher at iMusic School. He is the author of Strange Brew, a 100-year history of rock music, his albums include Chicken and Waffles and Tea and Biscuits. He also contributes to several guitar and music magazines. His blog is www.guitareobsession. com (also on Soundcloud). He lives in Paris, surrounded by many guitars.