Bill Faucett writes about one of the great university band programs with a historians care for detail and a band members insight and passion. The historical moments come to life, the personalities are critically and sympathetically portrayed, and the bands music resonates. Most of all, the book tells a significant and engaging storyDouglass Seaton, Warren D. Allen Professor of Music, Florida State University; Bill F. Faucetts superb chronicle of one of the countrys best-known (and best, period) marching bands is written with the concise prose of a journalist, the narrative sweep of a novelist, the thoughtful objectivity of a historian, the deeper-digging obsession of a musicologist, and the Hymn to the Garnet and Goldsinging heart of a Marching Chief. Though Faucett is himself an FSU grad and Marching Chiefs alum (Flush and drum major) who now claims offspring among the Chiefs current ranks, this doesnt skew his vision or keep him from shining his light into a shadowy nook and cranny or two. If anything, it may only fortify his resolve to get the story right. This is a rich and interesting tale, very well told.Robert S. Thurston, former Chief Arranger-Composer, United States Air Force Band, Washington D.C.
