Rating: 
Summary: Excellent instructional material
Review: This book is very good. This is not an anthology of songs but rather a step-by-step guide to learning how to play fingerstyle blues in the vein of Taj Mahal, Tommy Johnson, Blind Blake, etc. Even if you have little experience with the guitar, diligently practicing the exercises in this book will teach you to play great sounding music. I started in April with just basic 1st position chords and expect to be playing the songs at the end of the book pretty well by September. If you are already an experienced guitarist, it probably takes much less time. The accompanying CD is essential, because it lets you hear exactly what you are trying to achieve.
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction book to learning fingerstyle blues!
Review: This is a great book because it breaks down the process of learning acoustic (fingerstyle) blues step-by-step, and shows you how to play the blues in the old Mississippi-blues and other related styles. It starts off with beginner techniques such as learning how to play an alternating bass, combining the thumb with the fingers, playing chords with this thumb/finger picking pattern, maintaining a steady rhythm, playing different beats, and moves into more complicated playing involving melody and blues notes, fretting hand techniques, picking hand techniques, different chord shapes, vamps, and singing the blues. The end of the book then contains 5 blues pieces: M&O Blues, Beekman Blues, Big Road Blues, 32-20 Blues, and Black Rat Blues.The CD is a great accompaniment, because it allows you to hear the examples in the book, and really *listen* for that blues feel. I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Very comprehensive
Review: This is a very good book for those, like me, who are looking for an introduction not only fingerstyle blues but also to the guitar in general. So many other books with 'beginning' or 'first' assume you have a sound knowledge of guitar and just want to learn a different style. This book, as other reviewers have commented, starts off at a basic level-mind you I nearly had a heart attack when I first played the cd and heard the opening track and for a second thought it was a demostration of the first lesson!
Rating: 
Summary: Toward intermediate blues playing..
Review: This is an excellent introduction to intermediate blues playing for beginning fingerstyle guitarists. Unlike many books, this one takes you slowly through the basic techniques you need to build ability. THis is good, because this music can be complicated to play - it should take time to learn. The book, by going in small steps, is engaging. Also the CD is very releaxed and contains complimentary commentary to that in the book - very much like a teacher sitting in the room with you. I only had two complaints. One is that the book did not use the full rhythmic TAB notation, instead relying on the standard notion which runs in parallel with the TAB (all exercises are given in both TAB and standard). The second complaint was that the "blues note" was not introduced until the middle of the book. Thus it took about 6 weeks for me to work up to the blues sound, rather than the straight 'folksy' sound. Not bad in retrospect, but it felt like a long time. I expect to complete the book in another month or so, when I fully expect to be able to play the Robert Johnson and other tunes at the back of the book. Its a fun book, worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book
Review: This is an excellent introduction to playing acoustic blues guitar because; 1. It assumes virtually no knowledge of the instrument to begin with. 2. The exercises are gradated, slowly adding additional chords and keys and more complex picking patterns. 3. The exercises are designed to teach you to move your thumb independently from your fingers. This gives you that great "wow, it sounds like two guitars!" effect. 4. The accompanying CD, while not always perfectly indexed to the book (I think it must have been a cassette first), allows you to hear a very skilled player playing the exercises and pieces. 5. The culmination of the exercises is a collection of five real pieces, including songs by Robert Johnson and Willie Brown. These pieces are stylistically different from each other and require you to stretch a bit beyond what you've learned in the exercises, with the result that together they make a nice little blues repertoire. Decide today to (get better) on the guitar -- buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A great first step for aspiring blues guitarists
Review: To any guitarist hoping to develop a traditional blues repetoire, this book is a great first step in that direction. Simple exercises develop alternating bass notes, melody notes, walking bass, syncopation, and other essential skills in a systematic way. The book comes with a great CD, which plays all of the exercises.
Rating:
Summary: Great progressive learning system
Review: What a book!! Not only will you learn fingerstyle blues, but you'll also find yourself picking up the common chord progressions and turn-arounds associated with blues guitar. I am also reading Fretboard Logic, and it's amazing to see how this book compliments the CAGED system. So while you're stepping through your chordal exercises, you can learn some great tunes. The earlier songs are perfect for a beginner and gradually increase in complexity up to the Rober Johnson classics. Quite the goal, keeping you motivated to practice.
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