Giraffes, Black Dragons, and Other Pianos A Technological History from Cristofori to the Modern Concert Grand, Second Edition

This revised edition incorporates the results of recent research that increases knowledge of the work of Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano; changes perceptions of how eighteenth-century pianos were made and used; adds to the available information about the important contributions of the Steinway Company; and describes the most recent changes to the piano.
The first edition of this book received the Otto Kinkeldey Award of the American Musicological Society as the best musicological book in English published in 1982-83.
Reviews of the First Edition
"If you have ever looked under the lid of a piano and wondered about the technical how and why of it all, this is the book to sate your curiosity. . . . Good's vigorous prose breathes life into the technology . . . and brings forward the people involved, with humor and sensitivity."
―Los Angeles Times
"This is a fine book. Accurate technical description, an abundance of photographs and drawings, and a very readable text complement a provocative thesis."
―Technology and Culture
"Intriguing reading. It turns out that the story of the piano and its evolution . . . is rife with human interest, at least when Good relates the details."
―Keyboard