One of the most important and simultaneously funniest pieces of American literature. E.L. Doctorow's novel, a classic of modern literature, adapted into a film and brought to the Broadway stage as a musical, takes us into America in the early 20th century. It tells the story of Coalhouse Walker, a black jazz pianist who fights for justice. Doctorow weaves Walker's rebellion and tragic entanglements with the story of a wealthy white family and the economic rise of a Jewish immigrant. In an artful blend of fictional characters and historical figures, a captivating portrait of an entire era emerges, the time between 1902 and the outbreak of World War I. On the occasion of E.L. Doctorow's 80th birthday on January 6, 2011, the classic is being released in a new edition.