Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, was man with a rich and full life, for nearly every day of his 85 years. Richard D. Smith tells his story well, from his early years in Kentucky and the complicated relationships of his family, through early and middle adulthood, when the complexities only seemed to intensify, through to his later years, when like a well-aged whiskey, there was both mellowness and bite. As a musician he made a mark that was unlike any other. He wasn't the only person who contributed to the Bluegrass sound, but he was clearly the driving and dominant force within the genre. He could be both hard to work with and generous to a fault. He held grudges for years but when those relationships healed the new bonds were unbreakable. I enjoyed this book of an American original, and I hope that you will too. ( )