In this book William Hyland's reexamines Gershwin's personality and music. He illustrates how the composer's craftsmanship was criticized and his music was relegated to the status of "lowbrow" for decades, until the relatively recent appreciation of his achievements. Yet for all of his artistic brilliance, Gershwin was vulnerable and discontented in his personal life. Hyland reveals both the man and his creations, explaining how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms, how his work reflected the turmoil of America in the Jazz Age, and how, despite his fame, he never achieved a state of happiness and contentment.