Kika Kila

John W. Troutman is Curator of American Music at the National Museum of American History.

Superbly written, beautifully illustrated and packed with anecdotes . . . this remarkable book is a gem and should find a readership far beyond guitar obsessives." - The Blues Magazine"Expose[s] . . . innovations and the rich, transnational context in which they occurred." - Journal of Social History"A rich and imaginative history, not only of a musical instrument and its sound world, but also of indigenous modernity, local innovation and the global sweep of Hawaiian musical impact." - Journal of Pacific History"Well written, insightful and beautifully illustrated, Kika Kila is an excellent addition to the world music library." - Songlines"Troutman shows that popular types of music around the world . . . would not be what they are today if it was not for musicians from the northernmost corner of the 'Sea of Islands'. . . . An important contribution to island scholarship." - Island Studies Journal"Deeply researched. . . . Essential for anyone who wants to know more about the tremendously fertile--and horribly imperialistic--world of 19th and early-20th century Hawaii, when new ideas poured in and amazing music poured out." - Ukulele"If you've ever felt the lure of slide guitar, Kika Kila is a fantastic book that offers new listening material, colorful stories, and vibrant history, and exposes you to great guitarists who made history." - Acoustic Guitar"Presents a stunning example of the nation's cultural melange." - Oxford American"A fascinating and foundational contribution to the history and development of the instrument" - Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association"[A] treasure chest of impassioned investigation [that] tracks the steel-stringed guitar's signature 'glissando swoop' as it sparks a global explosion of composition and performance." - Honolulu Magazine