Fender: The Sound Heard 'Round the World: Centennial Edition Hardcover – February 1, 2010

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This is the most definitive book you'll ever read about Fender's history for a number of reasons. The author, Richard R. Smith, had the opportunity to know all of the principles personally and had the opportunity to interview them many times. Since all of those men have passed away, there will never be anyone else with that accessibility.Add to that the fact that Smith was born & raised in Fender's hometown of Fullerton, CA., and you have a perspective that nobody else ever had or will ever have.Mr. Smith deserves much praise for making his book both a 'serious reference' and a 'coffee-table' book at the same time. The book has hundreds of photographs and illustrations but the text is anything but fluff. Mr. Smith does an excellent job of weaving the entire story of Fender into a very readable and chronologically accurate book. He also had the advantage of using 'first-person' books written by Forrest White and other insiders as references.The main movers and shakers of pre-CBS Fender, in addition to Leo himself, were Don Randall, George Fullerton, Freddy Tavares, and Forrest White. Smith knew every one of these men well and acquired a treasure of first-person information no other author will ever have and has to be complimented for his sense of objectivity throughout the narrative.There are a lot of books written about the history of Fender and it's instruments but none have the substance of this one.This book has to be the definitive story of Fender. I highly recommend it to any and all FenderHeads.

I own three Stratocasters and this book provided so much on the history of Fender and the Strat that will take months, years to consume it all. Well referenced, and well written it is an entertaining piece of work and a great companion to the Telecaster book in the series. Well worth the cost for a Strat owner, or any Fander fan.

+1 what the first reviewer said.This is the root-book for Fender information. Its the one the others borrow from or use indirectly to help shape their perspective. It makes the guitar book output of Tony Bacon an insult to coffee tables everywhere. This author strikes the perfect balance between factual information, historical associations, and a very pointy humor that surfaces from time to time. THIS is the book to begin your study of Fender. Other model-specific books are good too, but this is the informative source. The root. You cant go wrong with this one.Note: this latest edition comes with a DVD. Make sure you buy this version and not the first edition. Whats in the DVD? Well that would spoil your surprise. Hint: 'home movie'

This book is a must for Fender fans or for any guitarist that is interested in the history of the instrument. Leo Fender is justly known as the father of the solid-body electric guitar and this book explains how this came to be. While the book focuses heavily on the "pre-CBS Golden Age", the rest of the story is not entirely neglected. I knew some of the history before I read this book, but nonetheless enjoyed reading it again. The writing is informative without being dry like a textbook. I went through it as fast as I could make time for. Highly recommended.

More material than I could deal with, this is a delightful read if you're interested is the inner workings of the company and it also goes over Leo's later years at Music Man and G&L. A book about the man, the factory and all that made Fender great. And if you don't care about those things you can still use it to squash rats, it's a big book.

Well written book, learned many interesting points of the history that's missing from other books covering Leo's inventions.

Me of the definitive histories of fender. Excellent resource.

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If you're into Fender guitars and/or basses and want to know how they developed from very small and primitive beginnings in the 1940s, this book is for you. Lots of detail and photos. Although Leo was non-musician, he knew what musicians wanted and a part of his genius was his ability to spot a hole in the market. This is a brilliant book.Also, if you want to know about the Fender Precision bass in great detail, Detlef Schmidt's 'Fender Precision Basses: 1951-1954' is also a must have.

Una miniera di informazioni e dietro le quinte, perfetto per gli amanti dei segreti e delle storie inedite. Tantissimi dettagli tecnici utili per chi colleziona.

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In reading the books on Fender instruments and company history by Tony Bacon, Jim Roberts, Dave Hunter and others I found one common thread in the bibliography of each of those books. Each of these authors cites "Fender: The Sound Heard 'round the World" as one of their sources so I looked it up, purchased and read the book. Now I know why this book is so popular with all these authors, it is by far the best and most definitive history of C. Leo Fender, his legacy and his company I have read so far. Richard R. Smith writes very well, keeps the reader wanting more and gives a fresh insight into the minds of Misters Fender, Randall, Kauffman, Hall, Massie, Hyatt, Hayes, Driver and so many more hard working people who created and made the Fender Musical Instrument company the world wide organization it is today. The detail in this book is vast and extraordinary, the photographs and technical drawings are excellent and the included DVD is a wonderful addition showing home movies of Leo Fender and his boat which was one of the great joys in his life. If you're a musician who plays or has played Fender instruments, if you're a collector or if you're a fan of all the music that has evolved as result of the invention of the electric guitar, you will enjoy how Mr. Smith's book gives you a great new insight into our changing world since the invention, Leo Fender's vision and the mass production of this instrument.