Yodel-ay-ee-Oooo: A Short History of Yodeling Book

When I just picked up the book I had the bemused grin many people have that the author was talking about in the introduction. But with the reading it disappeared and I now have a lot of appreciation and respect for this music type. It really has a very rich history and spread all over the world which makes it so special.

Bart Platenga created the first yodel book. He really made a big study on yodeling going through pretty much all of the continents. I really liked the part of each chapter where he was talking about the history and types of yodeling in this particular area, but towards the end the chapter became more like an encyclopedia listing a lot of artists and their life stories. North America has about 5 chapters dedicated to it and there it seems like each chapter has less of the information part and more of the singer profiles. To me this was kind of ruining the book which is the reason I have to take a few stars away. I think this book may be perfect for a yodel enthusiast who wants to find more artists and learn about them, but for someone like me the book would have been better if the portraits were cut short and all the musician listings would be just another appendix.