The Drum Book: A History of the Rock Drum Kit

For anyone who loves drum sets, this is a fabulous book. The pictures are wonderful, and the history of the trap set is really fascinating. If you want a lot about jazz sets or jazz drummers, this isn't the book for you, but still, the history of drums from the 1920's on is good to read. The appendix, a listing of many, many drum companies, is enlightening and useful. Soon it may be updated, and that'll be great, too (2003 is a long way from 1997 in some ways!)

I have found Geoff Nicholls book to be the most complete and informative book on the modern evolution of the drum set yet. It has sparked my interest in collecting, and I find myself going back thru it most evenings. It's a teriffic reference book as well as an interesting read. Thanks Geoff.

I love this book. It is graphically superb, well-written, and full of beautiful photographs. The author's perspective is English, which changes the focus a little bit. Hence, some of the usually overlooked species of drums are featured here: Premier, Carlton, Ajax, and others. Of course, the book is full of pictures of Ludwig, Rogers, and the like, as well.If you are familiar with the Fender Book, or the Les Paul Book, this is from the same series, and is absolutely indispensable for the drum collector.

I believe this book is a must have for anyone who loves to play the drums. It has many detailed and interesting pictures and fasinating information about the early years of the drum set. Although, I also believe that it tends to be from a british point of view and does skip over a lot of what has happened with the drum set in more recent years, but it would be an enjoyable book for anyone who likes to sit down and play on their drumset!

This book offers a superb illustrated history of the modern drumkit. The text is also quite informative but the best part of the book is certainly all the detailed pictures of drumkits that have paved the way to the modern set. Some pictures are quite intriguing like Carl Palmer steel kit or the weird Trixon sets with conical drums... A must read for all drummers out there!