I bought this book when it was released in February 2009 with great anticipation. After reading "The Social Psychology of Music" by Hargreaves & North, I couldn't wait to start another music psychology text by esteemed authors. Right away though, I noticed the cheapness of the book. Every aspect, from the warping hardcover to the small, double column text, demonstrated the publishing companies capacity for cutting corners and subsidizing production costs. Personally, when I pay over one hundred dollars for a book, regardless of when it was released, I expect it to be of better quality. The other issue with this book pertains to the studies involved in the text. Regardless of the book being one of the most recently published texts on music psychology, most of the studies--at least in the first one hundred pages--were not even from this century. I understand that some studies from the later half of the 20th century will remain landmark studies for years to come, but is asking for a few words about what and where music psychology is going today really so much to ask for? I think not. If you're new to the field of music psychology as I was, do yourself a favor: spend the money on more (but less expensive) books released over the last two decades. Honestly, the content of this book brings nothing new to the table besides a few minute cases, usually supporting older research.