In Like Young, Davis considers jazz both old and new, and performers from Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday to Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra. But what makes this a most surprising book is the inclusion of such pop icons as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach and Lou Reed. Using himself as an example, Davis pinpoints our collective longing for a time when we (and our music) were younger - and more inclined to take risks. Like Young is lively, opiniated, gracefully written, and very funny.

FRANCIS DAVIS writes about music for Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times; he is at work on a biography of John Coltrane.

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