To return to thread. I was given a copy (which I still have) of FSE as a fifteenth birthday present soon after I became interested in Folk Music. Thirty five years later I still go back to it.

It has it's flaws as outlined above and it is not as academic as it would like to be. It has a political viewpoint (but then I did my Economic History degree at a time when all history seemed to have a polical viewpoint).

I think it is a great book because of the scope of the book which also harks back to an earlier age. Today an academic approach would be to take one small section of the material, research it to the nth degree and produce a book nearly as long on, say, "The factual content of miner's songs, 1870-1914" (NB if this book exists I apologise for any offence). FSE gives a context and a continuum from which to start which is clear and concise and that's the reason for my opinion.

All the best

Steve Ogden