Top 10 Best Banjo Books: Truth and Fiction of the Five-String

Before I fell in the love with the banjo, I was a book lover. I mean, I still am. But when I was in college, I took so many literature classes for fun that I amassed enough credits to earn a dual degree in English, along with my bachelor's in journalism. 

I was raised in a house of reader parents. My mom is the kind of woman who checks out a stack of books at a time from the library. My dad also reads constantly, usually history or mystery, but at a much slower rate. My love of books developed slowly. My appetite for reading was sparked when I began collecting comic books in the early 1990s, then graduated to graphic novels, then my love for Star Wars led me to the Expanded Universe novels, and finally I began to read the almighty ... LITERATURE! 

From high school onward, I have never not been in the middle of some book. Naturally, when I became interested in the banjo, I not only began amassing a large collection of associated music, but I also started compiling a stack of books about the fanciful five-string. Here a few of my favorites. 

Non-Fiction

African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia, by Cecelia Conway

Rapid Review: Cecelia Conway draws on interviews with elderly black musicians, mostly from the Piedmont region of North Carolina, to show the influence of African-American banjo music on southern folk traditions. Indispensable for its documenting of legendary musicians Dink Roberts, Lucius Smith, Martin and Bogan, and others.

America's Instrument: The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century, by Philip Gura and Jim Bollman

Rapid Review: Look, I'm just going to say it. This is banjo porn. It's a gorgeous book, full of even more gorgeous photos of banjos throughout history. However, if you're going to pretend to read it for the articles, then there also is some really excellent text to go along with the illustrations. A must-have in my opinion. 

Building New Banjos for an Old-Time World, by Richard Jones-Bamman

Rapid Review: A scholarly overview of the history of the five-string banjo and an examination of the trends within the old-time music community and the instrument's place in American culture.

I reviewed this book for Old-Time Herald in 2018. 

Dwight Diller: West Virginia Mountain Musician, by Lew Stern
Rapid Review: Lew Stern's biography of this fascinating figure in the old-time music world is well worth reading. Dwight Diller is full of wisdom about the banjo, the music and life in general. I interviewed the author about his book back in 2016. 

Sinful Tunes and Spirituals, by Dena Epstein

Rapid Review: Another must-have, as Dena Epstein is known for proving the African roots of the banjo in this book, originally published in 1977. There's also a documentary about the author, The Librarian and the Banjo, which is also worth your time. 

Tommy Thompson: New-Timey String Band Musician, by Lew Stern
Rapid Review: Lew Stern takes a deep dive into the banjo style and influence of Tommy Thompson, who played with the Hollow Rock String Band and the Red Clay Ramblers. I reviewed this book back in 2019.

Fiction/Poetry

Deliverance, by James Dickey

Rapid Review: Get the movie out of your head and just read it. Except for a few cultural references, the book could be set in the present day. Dickey writes with the poetic and propulsive force of a wild river, like the one in this book that brings both death and, yes, deliverance. And yes, there's that scene with the banjo player. While Dickey is now most famous for this novel, his 1965 collection of poetry, Buckdancer's Choice, won the National Book Award and is also well worth reading. 

Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier

Rapid Review: Two prominent side characters play banjo (Pangle) and fiddle (Stobrod). Within the first few pages of the book, the characters pass through Brevard, North Carolina, which is home to Cedar Mountain Banjos and where my maternal grandparents lived. The book is wonderful. I can't say the same for the movie. 

The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
Rapid Review: Anytime there is a social gathering depicted in this novel, banjo and fiddle is present. That aside, this a great novel for our current times, taking a sort of magical realism approach to historical fiction and reimagining the Underground Railroad as if it were an actual railroad. Published in 2016, the novel won both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. It has also been turned into a streaming series on Amazon Prime. 

Biggest Omission

Banjo Roots and Branches, Edited by Bob Winans

Rapid Review: This is a glaring omission from my collection. While I checked it out from my local library, I don't have my own copy of this book of essays by the likes of Greg Adams, George Gibson, Tony Thomas and many others. I need to get my own copy!

Honorable Mentions

Here are some not strictly banjo books that I also wanted to recommend: 

Way Up North in Dixie, by Howard and Judy Sacks, which is about how a black family in Ohio influenced Dan Emmett.

Do Not Sell at Any Price, by Amanda Petrusich, which is about obsessive 78-rpm record collectors.

The Old, Weird America, by Greil Marcus, which is about the influence of the Harry Smith Anthology on Bob Dylan.

What Did I Forget?

Now, it's your turn. My list is by no means comprehensive. I'm sure some of you are angry that I left out your favorite banjo book. So let me know about it in the comments! What's your pick?