Ragtime was America's first truly national music, and in recent years it has undergone several revivals. Until now, however, there was no book that covered ragtime in its many manifestations - ragtime piano, songs, banjo, orchestra, piano rolls, and the social and cultural history of the music. With chapters by America's leading ragtime scholars - including Gunther Schuller, Max Morath, Edward Berlin, Trebor Jay Tichenor - Ragtime authoritatively explains ragtime music, examines the lives of its leading practitioners, looks at the vigorous debate that the music engendered, and probes the history of the genre. The book includes articles on the history of ragtime; analyses and biographies on leading composers; interviews with luminaries such as James P.Johnson and Rudi Blesh; an authoritative discography that lists and describes over 300 LPs; the most extensive listing ever published of ragtime folios for piano, organ, and other instruments; a thorough bibliography that includes more than 500 books and articles; and more than 30 photographs, some never before published.