Gibson's Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars: An Illustrated History & Guide Paperback – Illustrated, December 1, 2009

The book arrived quickly in excellent condition. It contains a wealth of information about Gibson’s legendary flat top guitars.

Thank you kindly!

This is a very thorough resource on the history of Gibson flat-top guitars, with a heavy emphasis on specs. You could say that much of the book is really a listing of guitar spec in paragraph format.Random excerpt:"An intriguing feature of the L-2 is that the neck meets the body at the 13th fret - again like the Nick Lucas model. Both models feature mahogany necks, the 24 3/4" scale, and "The Gibson" inlaid in pearl on the peghead."Cultural and economic context is added in a repetitive fashion, as it seems that the chapters are intended to be somewhat self-contained and complete within themselves. We are told several times that 1) during The Depression people didn't have much money but they still wanted to buy guitars, so Gibson made inexpensive-but-well-constructed guitars for these people, and 2) Gibson's quality suffered during the late 60s and 70s when it was bought out by a company that was less concerned with musical instruments than it was with the corporate bottom-line.There are tons of photos, the vast majority of which are black-and-white and dark/low-contrast as one might see in a photocopy or a vintage newspaper. That said, there are 2 glossy insert sections (in the edition I was sent) of about 16 pages each with high-quality color photos.Gibson guitar player and collectors are fortunate to have this book as a reference and it's clear that a ton of research and knowledge when into making this.

When it comes to steel-string acoustic guitars, two names stand out - Martin & Gibson! Martin were the pioneers & Gibson became their closest competitor. Both companies made superb instruments and still do so today. There are plenty of excellent books available about the history of Martin Guitars, and now we have a definitive book on the history of Gibson acoustic guitars and it is a must-have volume if you love and/or play acoustic guitars. It is well illustrated and starts at the beginning of the Gibson story and chronicles their progress to today. It is an essential resource if you are trying to identify a vintage Gibson flattop. Well-written, it is an entertaining read as well as being an essential reference tool. Very highly recommended!

If you are a Gibson acoustic fan and owner, this is about the best book you can own. I was astounded at all the history documented in this and not all of it good. Dan Erlewine is a master repair guy and they consulted many players and repair folks in the book's research. I hope they decide to update this in a few years. This is the 2009 edition, the latest. GIbson Montana appears to be turning out some very fine new acoustics using better bracing techniques , thermal aging and PLEK setups. Interesting to see how the experts see that in a few years.

I purchased "Gibson Guitars: 100 Years of an American Icon" a number of years ago and was extremely disappointed. Not that there wasn't a lot of information in there but because the author was kind of all over the place in presentation and really didn't give very specific information on any one guitar.But "Gibsons Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars An Illustrated History & Guide' is the exact opposite of that book. It gives great detail on each flat top's construction and history. I highly recommend this book for any aficionado of Gibson flat tops!

The content of the book is great, but it's not a hardbound as ordered. Most of the photos are black and white and grainy. I still enjoyed reading the book. It very informative and fairly well written.

A very useful source of information. I was able to identify an old Gibson flattop guitar with the information provided. Extremely well illustrated. Thanks & Regards.--Geoff.