Alan Lomax books in order
American musicologist
- Lived
- 1915–2002
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 9
Alan Lomax published 4 non-fiction books, 1 poetry collection and 4 other books, beginning with American Ballads and Folk Songs (1934). The best-known is The Land Where the Blues Began (1993).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Alan Lomax
Start here
The Land Where the Blues Began
Alan Lomax's most-read book.
Non-fiction in order
Folk Song Style and Culture (1968)
Cantometrics (1976)
Mister Jelly Roll (1991)
The Land Where the Blues Began (1993)
Poetry in order
3000 Years of Black Poetry (1971)
Other books in order
American Ballads and Folk Songs (1934)
The Penguin Book of American Folk Songs (Reprint) (1966)
Brown Girl in the Ring (1997)
Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians (1997)
About Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activist, oral historian, filmmaker and son of folklorist John Lomax. Lomax produced recordings, concerts, and radio shows in the U.S. and in England which played an important role in preserving folk music traditions in both countries and helped start both the American and British folk revivals of the 1940s, 1950s, and especially the early 1960s. He collected material first with his father, folklorist and collector John Lomax, and later, alone and with others. Lomax recorded thousands of songs and interviews for the Archive of American Folk Song, of which he was the director, at the Library of Congress on aluminum and acetate discs.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Alan Lomax FAQ
- How many books has Alan Lomax written?
- Alan Lomax published 4 non-fiction books, 1 poetry collection and 4 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Alan Lomax's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Land Where the Blues Began.
- What is Alan Lomax's last book?
- The Land Where the Blues Began (1993).
- What is Alan Lomax's most famous book?
- The Land Where the Blues Began (1993) is Alan Lomax's most widely read book.
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.