Burning Down the House is Eliot Van Buskirk's new how-to guide for acquiring, manipulating, storing and sharing digital music. It's basically a step-by-step reference for turning unsophisticated computer users into mash-up-crazy, rip-mix-burnin' monster DJs. As such, it is a really fantastic book, one that clarifies a lot of rather opaque subject-matter, from the physics and psychology of sound to the free software movement's contribution to codec and tools development to the best places to find the raw components of mash-up mixes to the state of copyright law as it befits digital music. It's organized into a series of projects of increasing sophistication, and Eliot's very careful about identifying tools that will enable both Mac and Windows users to hack audio.
I got a review copy last week and just finished reading through it on an airplane, and I'm mighty impressed. For years, Eliot's been turning out top-notch columns on digital music for CNet — it's clear that he has a deep and thoroughgoing knowledge of the subject, and the ability to explain it.
