Dave Hunter's The Fender Telecaster: The Life and Times of the Electric Guitar That Changed the World has just recently been published by Voyageur Press. There have been fourteen books already written about the Tele, including books in Japanese and German. Guitar historians Tony Bacon and Andre Duchossoir have made major contributions to the literature of the Telecaster. Is this book necessary?
 
It would seem that everything that can be said about this guitar has already been so. But a quick perusal of Hunter's book tells us that, as far as the Telecaster is concerned, not enough has been said and may never be fully expressed.
 
Aside from a standard (though no less worthy) history of the guitar and discussion of its tone and construction, Hunter profiles forty-two  celebrated Tele players, from James Burton, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Richards to Chrissie Hynde, Albert Collins, and Steve Cropper, et al. It's a star gallery of Telecaster connoisseurs, and the bios that Hunter has written for each of these Tele heroes are required reading for anyone who loves the electric guitar, Telecaster or otherwise..
 
Oh, yes, it's illustrated. There are plenty of Telecaster porn shots to swoon and slobber over and turn a fan green with envy. More than a few of the gorgeous photographs, mostly in color, were provided, with pleasure, by us at Fretted Americana. '54 and '56 Esquires; a 1960 Custom; '66 Teles in Lake Plaid Blue and Candy Apple Red; and a '69 Paisley Red, each from Fretted Americana's world-renowned vault of great vintage axes grace the pages of this volume. There are, additionally, photos of the guitar and players not seen anywhere else.
 
More good things can be said about this book but these many  good things are better read there than said here.
 
Is another Telecaster book necessary? Hundreds of books have been written about Abraham Lincoln and, undoubtedly, more will be published. Why? Because Lincoln is an endlessly fascinating American personality, one of the greatest, with new insights and interpretation always welcome. So it is with the Telecaster, an endlessly fascinating American guitar, one of the greatest, an instrument that redefined popular music in the 20th century.
 
Yes, this book is necessary. It is, in fact, required reading for all who justifiably worship at the feet of Leo Fender.