Lester Leaps In: The Life and Times of Lester "Pres" Young

The acclaimed biography of the legendary tenor

"Lester Leaps In jumps off the page with authenticity and insight. The Prez was an amazing creator with a uniquely wicked sense of humor, and this book captures it all."
—Quincy Jones

"Twenty years in the making, this is the most thorough and penetrating book on the President of the Tenor Saxophone to date."
—Publishers Weekly

"A provocative book, presenting Lester Young in a novel, even controversial light while opening new avenues of possible investigation into one of the most tantalizingly enigmatic of all historic jazz figures."
—Richard Sudhalter, Los Angeles Times

"The lessons learned from Pres' painful life tell us a lot about ourselves and the horrible consequences of racism in America."
—T. Michael Crowell, San Diego Union-Tribune

Douglas Henry Daniels is professor of history and black studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is author of Pioneer Urbanites: A Social and Cultural History of Black San Francisco and lives in Santa Barbara.