[Story updated] Phil Taylor's wonderful book, "The Black Strat: A History Of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster" (reviewed here), will hopefully be published by the Hal Leonard Corporation as a hard-backed book on September 15th, assuming all goes to plan.

Taylor, David Gilmour's long-term guitar technician, studio manager, production director and much more, takes a careful and detailed look at one of rock's most iconic instruments. Rather than a dry, technical manual, suited only to those who already know guitars inside and out, it is a rewarding and accessible book that Pink Floyd fans the world over will thoroughly enjoy.

The original, soft-cover version, was a limited edition that can still be obtained from the dedicated site, www.TheBlackStrat.com, but this new edition should ensure greater worldwide exposure for a fine piece of work. As an aside, Phil has put the very limited stocks of the first edition for sale on special offer - with a reduced price, and signed by the author, this will be a tempting proposition for many.

A very fitting (we think essential) addition to ANY Gilmour fan's bookshelves, the new edition (which looks like it may include some additional material as Hal Leonard are quoting a higher page count) can be pre-ordered through the following special links, which give a healthy discount from the recommended retail price at time of writing: Amazon UK, Amazon US/International, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, or Amazon France. In the unlikely event that the hardback edition does NOT appear, you should be safe ordering through Amazon as they do not charge customers until they are shipping the ordered item(s).