This true story by John Jeremiah Sullivan has totally enraptured me. I read it, then re-read it, and hell, maybe will read it again. As they say, "On the trail of the phantom women who changed American music and then vanished without a trace."
It's a story about the country blues, and the people who wrote and sang it, and then about those who recorded the music on old 78's and then later, the people who fell in love with the authenticity and astonishing beauty of the music, and hunted for and collected old records that no one else really considered collectible. It's about life and history, and the human story. It's about myth and legend, and stories and story-telling too. And how people live and disappear. And how just a few people here and there can change the course of history.
It's beautifully written. It's a revelation. You should read it!