Stephen Foster was the first great American songwriter. a1=!His melodies are so much a part of American history and culture that most people think they're folk tunes. All in all he composed some 200 songs, including "Oh! Susanna" "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair," and "Camptown Races." a1=!Though he virtually invented popular music as we recognize it today, Foster's personal life was tragic and contradiction-riddled. He died at age 37, a forgotten and nearly penniless alcoholic on the Bowery. The author traces Foster's tragic, contradiction-riddled life, showing how the dynamics of nineteenth century industrialization, westward expansion, the Gold Rush, slavery, and the Civil War infused his music, and how that music influences our own today. This book was the inspiration for PBS' American Experience program, Stephen Foster.