History of the Ukulele Books

A listing of books I enjoy and often reference. Each of these will become a blog post in the near future.

The Ukulele, A Visual History Jim Beloff The Ukulele Dude’s Blog Review		Awesome book! Lots of great illustrations and solid information. This one is top of the line and I recommend it highly to anyone with any interest in the history of this instrument.
The ‘Ukulele, A History Jim Tranquada and John King The Ukulele Dude’s Blog Review		Must have for those serious about the history. Limited illustrations, but lots of good facts and well supported by footnotes and references.
Ukulele Heroes Ian Whitecomb		An ukulele hero in his own right, Ian Whitecomb has created a great selection of key individuals from the Golden Age and biographies about their contributions to the instrument.
The Martin Ukulele: The Little Instrument That Helped Create a Guitar Giant John King and Tom Walsh		While it is focused on the Martin Company, there are many great snapshots of key individuals during the era that add to the knowledge of the instrument.
Get Plucky With the Ukulele The Ukulele Dude’s Blog Review Will Grove-White		Lots of historical information as well as a bit autobiographical. Great illustrations and well printed. Very complete chord chart included as well as some music to play.
Uketopia! Adventures in the Ukulele WorldThe Ukulele Dude’s Blog Review Jim Beloff		If you want to get a feel for the recent history of the ukulele and the people involved, this is the book for you! For a more detailed review, see my blog post on the book when it first come out here.
The Ukulele Handbook Tom Hodgkinson and Gavin Pretor-Pinney		Lots of illustrations and beginning history of the instrument. About half the book is an eight week plan to learn to play. Full of solid information on everything from choosing an instrument to daily practice. Includes about a dozen songs to play as well.
Ukulele The World’s Friendliest Instrument Daniel Dixon and Jayne McKay		Lots and lots of great illustrations and photographs. The tone of the book attempts to work with the sub-title and be friendly, but it was forced and comes off a bit lame. The choice of vocabulary is not friendly at all and could make it a heavy slog for the casual reader. It has a number of what appear to be factual errors as well, the most annoying in my mind was that the bio on Lyle Ritz doesn’t match Ritz’s own narrative. I also find the lack of an index annoying.
Roy Smeck Vincent Cortese		If you want to know the story of the “Wizard of the Strings” this is a good read.
Hawaiian Music & Musicians		This is a very comprehensive and large reference book. It includes much more than just the ukulele musicians. Good reference book, but not made for casual reading.
The Hawaiian Ukulele & Guitar Makers John King		Compiled by John King, this is privately published. I managed to obtain a copy for reference. Includes hundreds of advertisement from early ukulele makers in Hawaii.