nonfic/music history. As mentioned in other reviews, there is no sheet music to this compilation, only lyrics and chord progressions, so if you don't already know or can't find a sample of the actual tune elsewhere you're out of luck. But there are so many popular songs in here (and a serviceable index searchable by subject, cultural background, title and artist), you're bound to know many of them already, and (as the editors point out) publishing all of these 1200 songs with sheet music would have been very bulky, and much more expensive because of the copyrights.
I didn't find it that useful for my purposes, but it is a valuable resource for some of the rarer folk and traditional songs that might have gotten lost without such a record. ( )

I grew up looking at this book and it highly speaks to me because of my love for music! :) it shares hundreds of songs and the chords to each one! Thus I can play them on the piano, ukulele, and guitar! It is a great book for a young musician.

A folk songbook with words, chords, and sources to 1200 songs designed for group singing.

1992 printing

This is a great collection of song lyrics, but I find the lack of musical notation is a major drawback. You have to already know the tunes pretty well to use this book for singing, but it's a pretty good reference even if you can't remember the tunes. ( )