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

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.

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Well researched and well written. High quality heavy glossy paper with high grade print. Excellent photos. If you're interested in the history of Fender, this is the book to get.

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

Great book with alot of insight on the behind the scenes stuff going on at fender at the time. I enjoy it very much, and glad i added it to my coffee table book collection.