There's a wealth of books for country fans in stores this holiday season on subjects ranging from Jimmie Rodgers, the father of country music, to Miley Cyrus, presumably the format's great-granddaughter. And there are plenty of general interest music titles as well, according to Publishers Weekly.

Among the most impressive works is Marty Stuart's lovingly collected and poetically remembered gallery of artist photographs, most of them candid shots and many of which he took himself, beginning with his days as a 13-year-old mandolin player for Lester Flatt. Thick enough to last through a long winter and accompanied by a CD (with a music video), the book is called Country Music: The Masters (Sourcebooks). It truly is masterful. The cover photo of Johnny Cash, which Stuart took just before Cash died, is like a glimpse of Mount Rushmore.

By Edward Morris