Max Morath: The Road to Ragtime
Last updated: 03.05.20
Hardcover, (July 1999)
Amazon Review
Reviewer: Murray Horwitz from Washington, DC
In all of the mass of literature about American entertainment, there are only a few books that
give you an accurate idea of what show business is really like -- ACT ONE, by Moss Hart, THE
TROUBLE WITH CINDERELLA, by Artie Shaw, ALL OF MY BEST FRIENDS, by George
Burns, and the occasional passage in a star's autobiography (Sophie Tucker, Billy Rose, Little
Richard).
Now, THE ROAD TO RAGTIME has joined that select company. Thanks to Max Morath and
Diane Fay Skomars, we have a document that shows what real American show business is
like in the late 20th Century trenches -- the one-man show, the community concerts circuit, the
roadhouses and honky-tonks, radio, television, and anywhere else there's an audience ready to be
entertained.
Max Morath is one of America's greatest entertainers. He's one of those magical peformers who's
able to get the audience in the palm of his hand the moment he takes the stage. What's extraordinary
is that he's been able to be so successful without ever compromising the integrity of his music.
He's a national treasure -- and this terrific book helps us unlock it.
-- Murray Horwitz National Public Radio