American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself

The book was written to reveal the detective work putting together the American Epic films which had aroused considerable interest at preliminary screenings. It also featured many stories that couldn’t be included in the films due to time constraints.[7] It was written during the post production of the American Epic films and announced February 15, 2017.[8]

The book chronicles the 10-year odyssey researching and making the American Epic documentary series and The American Epic Sessions.[9] The chapters approximately match the sections of the documentary series. It features interviews with subjects of the films and contains large amounts of supplementary information not featured in the documentary films or the music releases.[2]

The book has received widespread critical acclaim, Maik Brüggemeyer in Rolling Stone awarded it five stars and described it as “essential”,[10] Ian Anderson in fRoots stated “the companion 280-page hardback book is a beauty with high production values allowing you to linger on the rich detail of all those historic photos that came up on screen as part of the series - it is wonderful to read.”[2] Nigel Williamson in Songlines awarded the book five stars and stated that “the book makes a superb companion, chronicling the ten-year journey taken by the British-born MacMahon and his producer Allison McGourty across the US in search of the earliest roots of recorded American music. The book tells the story evocatively through archive photography, the reproduction of historical documents and the use of some gripping personal testimony.”[9] The book was the winner of the 2017 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Best Historical Research in Recorded Roots, Folk or World Music.[6]

• Official Website