(Book). The Gretsch Drum Book by Rob Cook in collaboration with John Sheridan is a complete business history of the Gretsch Drum Company and dating guide for Gretsch drums. From the founding of the company in 1883, every significant management change of direction is discussed right up to the current era in which owner Fred W. Gretsch partners with KMC Music. A history of Gretsch artist relations includes an alphabetic list of every Gretsch drum endorser from 1936 to 2012 with photos of over 200 of them. The dating guide illustrates every catalog, color, badge, snare drum, drum kit, and hardware item catalogued through the 130-year history of Gretsch drums.

Poetry. "Rob Cook can be as unerring as a dream in fitting an image to the mood he wants to convey. His subconscious seems to be guiding him, but he is taking us through the real world and not a construct of fantasy. There is more than the title to make a reader nervous in BLUEPRINTS FOR A GENOCIDE, although the simple insight in 'We will be returned to the cubicles / that have been dug for us' must bring a glow of satisfaction as we find the modern workplace recognized And in nature, in a world seeming to be spinning in reverse, there are 'winds / at the velocity of mountains/drifting deeper inside a goshawk.' Ever imaginative, the sequence unfolds with the language beautifully matching the adventurous vision of the poem."Here comes a voice. Deal with it. Whatever dimension you've enlisted as your favorite poetry room, this is where the lamps are flickering like dragonflies and the clock beneath the window is howling like a thermometer. Rob Cook's BLUEPRINTS FOR A GENOCIDE is that rarest of things, a truly modern poem, not just a post-modernist's word trick, or a parlor toy, not just another boundary in Facebook countries. Here is the first real challenge. The first one that made it through the puncture holes where what seemed like sunlight, but was really just the nanosecond blinking of a satellite, seeped through."--John Goode

The Ludwig Book by Rob Cook is the definitive business and historical guide to this legendary drum manufacturer. Includes dozens of interviews, a 64-page color section, a dating guide including every catalogued Ludwig snare drum and outfit, and a handy CD-ROM. Interview sections include the top executives from Ludwig's heyday in the 1960s: Karl Dustman, Frank Baxpehler and Dick Schory, as well as todays leaders: William F. Ludwig III, Todd Trent and Jim Catalano. There are also special segments on Ludwig Electronics, Phase II, and detailed sections about the gear used by famous drummers such as John Bonham and Ringo Starr.

(Book). The Ludwig Drum Company was the world's largest drum company in the 1920s under founder William F. Ludwig, and again in the 1960s under his son. This fascinating autobiography by William F. Ludwig II begins with his childhood recollections of home life and his father's drum factory. As a teenager, Mr. Ludwig became the national rudimental champion and member of the famous International Marimba Symphony Orchestra. Taking time out for distinguished wartime military service, the author helped his father start a second drum company, W.F.L. Restoration of the family name to the business, Total Percussion, The Beatles, N.A.R.D., selling the company to Selmer, and his active lecture career since all these topics are addressed here in captivating detail, in the words of William F. Ludwig II.

(Book). In this book, author Rob Cook gives the complete history of the Rogers Drum Company, whose drums, in the words of Not-So-Modern Drummer editor John Aldridge, were "the Cadillac of the 1960s...(whose) innovations in hardware design have been copied by almost every drum manufacturer in existence." The Rogers Book covers the company's east coast beginnings, the Covington, OH era, English Rogers, the CBS era, and much more. It includes a list of Rogers endorsees, a comprehensive guide for dating equipment, a color section showing old catalogs and drum colors, the parts listings from all Rogers catalogs, a list of current resources, and lots of photographs throughout. This is a must-have for all drum enthusiasts