Youn Ling wrote:

>Can anyone recommand books on Music History? I would like to have a
>comprehensive, authoritative and detailed one.  It's the best to have
>critique in it.  I've tried to search in Amazon.com but there are so many.
>That makes me so confused.  Thanks for your help.

For the beginner, start with the following, which are not so much history
books as they are introductions to music as an art form.  They will help
you understand some terminology that might be confusing in more academic
texts:

1. Aaron Copland: What to Listen for in Music
2. Karl Haas: Inside Music

After that, proceed to

Grout/Palisca: A History of Western Music. (Make sure to get the current
edition)
Paul Henry Lang: Music in Western Civilization

That ought to get you started!

Kevin Sutton