Book excerpt: THIS IS A NEW EDITION of Roderick Cannon's classic work, a definitive and critically acclaimed history of the origins and music of Scotland's most famous instrument. The eminently readable text will be of interest not only to pipers but to all those music lovers world wide who are intrigued to know more about the character and extraordinary history of the legendary pipes. The author covers both Ccol Mor and Ccol Beag, Piobaireachd, dance music, martial music, music for competitions and music for pleasure, music for pipe bands as well as a commentary on the state of piping today. Updated from its last paperback edition, this book is the only comprehensive history of piping in print and has never been surpassed.