Called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, received the Order of Canada and is considered to have been one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. This new biography from award-winning author Jack Batten, promises to tell Oscar Peterson's story in acomplete, compelling and sympathetic way. This is first biography of Oscar Peterson for young people.
 
This book is the story of a black kid from a Montreal ghetto who reached accliam in the great music halls of the world. “If you are looking for a solid biography for middle schoolers of the man who was arguably the top jazz pianist for over twenty years and among the best for the rest of his life, then look no further than this book. Though it is only briefly referenced, the author met Peterson back in 1965, and his clear respect for the man, as well as Peterson’s formidable jazz skills, shows throughout this book…. Still inexorably leading you through Peterson’s life, Batten makes the reader unfamiliar with songs run to the web to listen for the first time….”
– VOYA Magazine

Praise for The War To End All Wars
"...Batten's account is a model of lucidity.... Batten's clean, intelligent prose makes this highly readable and comprehensible...."
—The Toronto Star
 
"...a fine introduction, especially for a young reader."
—VOYA
 
Praise for The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone: The Story Of Tom Longboat
 
"vividly readable...brilliantly done!"
—Norma Fleck Jury
 
"[T]his book is a superb narrative - and a revelatory one - about a largely unknown if not quite unsung Canadian icon."
—The Globe and Mail
 
"...a wonderful book. Jack Batten has written a riveting sports story...an intriguing slice of social and economic life in the early decades of the 20th century, raising some provocative questions..."
— Books in Canada