Ben Ratliff
© Gus Aronson
Ben Ratliff is the author of books including Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening and Coltrane: The Story of a Sound. A former music critic for The New York Times, he lives in New York City and teaches at New York University.
“The best writer about pop music . . . an inspiration.”
—Jarvis Cocker, BBC Radio 6 Music
"[A] longtime freelance scene-maker, [Cohn] practices a form of journalism that might be called loitering with intent . . . [He] was in the exact demographic place to feel the detonation of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who across a formerly dull, gray landscape. He was a pioneering rock critic . . . His music writing was ardent, fond and knowing, and it had bite."
—Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review
The definitive, lavishly illustrated collection of music writing, memoir, and reportage from the redoubtable Nik Cohn.
Release: Oct 6, 2026
Hardcover ISBN: 9798988670148 • 400 pages
UK release: Nov 19, 2026 • UK Price: £25