Days of Miracle and Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland

“It’s a welcome surprise to read this careful look by a music historian at Graceland, Paul Simon’s 1986 masterpiece: By bringing both its beauty and its uglier aspects into the light, Kahn, far from ruining the album’s strange magic, lets readers appreciate its intricacies and paradoxes all the more.” —The New York Times (Editors' Choice)

In 1984, Paul Simon was at a professional and personal crossroads. His new marriage was failing and his career was in danger of stalling. He was forty-two,...