Alan Shapiro is not only a much-lauded poet but also one of America's most intelligent and clearheaded thinkers about poetry. In Praise of the Impure collects his passionate, rigorously argued essays on the situation of poetry in American culture today.

“Cole does for Miles’s late work what Ian MacDonald’s Revolution in the Head does for the Beatles, examining each album in meticulous detail.”
—Time Out

“As with any good musical biography, Cole . . . made me think again about those albums such as Siesta, You’re Under Arrest, and The Man with the Horn that are now stashed in my attic.”
—London Times

“In the flurry of books since [Miles Davis’s] death, none has dealt in depth with the music of this period. Music writer George Cole fills this gap. . . . a rich and rewarding read.”
—Gazette (Montreal)

“A fascinating book.”
—Mojo

“A singular look into the last stage of Davis’s long, somewhat checkered career gained from various sources, which at the same time gives a picture of the modern music business.”
—Midwest Book Review

“There are large chunks of fresh material here. . . . Fill[s] in quite a few gaps and dismisses blanket condemnations of [Miles’s] pop phase.”
—Jazzwise

“Thank you for telling it like it was!”
—Randy Hall, singer and guitarist

“Very moving, emotional material.”
—Gordon Meltzer, Miles’s last road manager and executive producer of Doo-Bop