while much has been written about the king and queen of folk, there is remarkably less to be found about richard fariña & mimi baez. this book chronicles the early years of the scene, from the late 1950's through the mid-1960's. it is an interesting read, and was clearly researched quite thoroughly (hajdu even scored interviews with fariña's notoriously media-wary college roommate & famed novelist, thomas pynchon).

to me, the most fascinating parts of the book dealt with richard & mimi. fariña's life was quite nearly inconceivable, and his talent was ascending greatly at the time of his death. if you haven't already, any of the three mimi & richard fariña albums are well worth checking out as well, as are fariña's two books.