In this somewhat idiosyncratic yet comprehensive reference to (with a handful of exceptions) African American blues musicians, the authors (an independent scholar in Australia and an instructor at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Canada) have applied their perspective that "the conditions in which the performers were born and raised (including the dominant performers already working in each region) have determined the major elements of the resultant music" to the organization of their listings of individual performers by United States eco-region (as identified by the Environmental Protection Agency) of birth and youth. Including a truly comprehensive listing of performers, including many side-players neglected in other references as well as the performers of the vaudeville era, each listing provides, to the extent possible: birth and death dates, a brief summary of the performer's contribution, and an explanation of why certain dates and other unsure information was privileged or not. Introductory materials provide a discussion of the role of regions in the development of the blues and explanation of the authors' methodology. The vaudeville era artists are listed only by birth state, as are those later musicians for whom more detailed information was unavailable. Also included are a selected artists' CD discography, a bibliography, and an index that provides access to individual artists by name. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)