The internationally acclaimed book by renowned historian David Schoenbaum tells the life story of the violin: how it is made, sold, played, and represented in art. The result is a highly original comprehensive portrayal. The violin is perhaps the most versatile instrument ever invented. Suitable for world music, dance music, and indie rock as well as for Bach and Beethoven, it has always been played standing or sitting, alone or in groups, in bars, churches, concert halls, and attics, by professionals and amateurs, adults and children, men and women, and on every continent. David Schoenbaum has gathered countless details about the makers, dealers, and players of the violin and compiled them into a thorough history of the instrument. From the early beginnings, when violin makers learned their craft from box makers, through Stradivari and the Golden Age of Cremona, which made the violin a coveted collector's item, to incomparable artists like Paganini, Joachim, Heifetz, and Oistrach, Schoenbaum informs knowledgeably and engagingly about the art and culture of the world's most versatile instrument.