No other jazz musician has proved so inspirational and so fascinating as Coltrane. Ben Ratliff, jazz critic for the New York Times, has written the first book to do justice to this great and controversial music pioneer. As well as an elegant narrative of Coltrane's life Ratliff does something incredibly valuable - he writes about the saxophonist's unique sound.

Ben Ratliff, son of American and British parents, is the jazz critic of The New York Times and is the author of Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings.