Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life

"No book I know of better captures the thrill of a moment of artistic freedom and innovation. . . . This is a book that any aspiring artist, in any medium, should read as a kind of how-to guide to achieving artistic success without losing integrity. . . . A book for anyone who wants to create something--including a self." --David Rollow, The Boston Globe

"How Mr. Adams arrived at this particular harmonic language is largely the subject of his absorbing book, which at times reads like a quest narrative that travels through the whole landscape of twentieth-century music." --Chip McGrath, The New York Times

"A lively, witty prose writer. . . . It's the range of Adams's musical appetites and intellectual hunger that leaves the strongest impression. This is a man who swallows whole new worlds with every fresh project he takes on--and makes his discoveries new for the rest of us." --Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times

"Engrossing . . . Like his music, Adams's voice in Hallelujah Junction is both playful and thoughtful, unafraid of making big emotional statements but obsessed with making sure those statements are precisely crafted. . . . An original and inspired book." --Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times

"John Adams is the voice of America . . . thoughtful, amusing, analytical--and a good writer. . . . To read something so intelligent, reasoned, and caring sure feels good these days." --Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times

"Thoughtful, amusing, analytical . . . John Adams is the voice of America." --Mark Swede, Los Angeles Times

"Hallelujah Junction stands . . . among the most readably incisive autobiographies of major musical figures." --David Hajdu, The New York Times Book Review