Selected as an "Outstanding" book in 2007 by AAUP University Press Books for Public and Secondary School Libraries Finalist for the George Freedley Memorial Award of the Theatre Library Association."Stephen Banfield's study is a major addition to Kern scholarship."—Gerald Bordman, author of American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle"Banfield's book is heroic in its scope and coverage of a neglected but essential American music icon."—Michael Feinstein, Singer, Music Historian“With P.G. Wodehouse, Jerome Kern wrote some of the first, funniest, and most charming American musical comedy songs; with Oscar Hammerstein, he wrote the great musical epic of the Broadway stage, Show Boat; with Dorothy Fields, he wrote the most enduring jazz and pop standards of the American songbook, including ’The Way You Look Tonight’ and ’I Won’t Dance.’ He did all this and more without ever swimming into either biographical or musicological focus the way Gershwin, Porter, and others did. Stephen Banfield has now rectified both omissions with a book that’s intelligent and authoritative but also a vivid evocation of early twentieth-century show business. This lively study not only conjures Kern and his world but lays out clearly why this music is of value and why it will last.”—Mark Steyn, author of Broadway Babies Say Goodnight
