33 1/3 is a new series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. Focusing on one album rather than an artist's entire output, the books cut to the heart of the music. Part '80s musical retrospective, part angry social document, Prince's 1987 classic stands as pop's last great double album. In a series heavy with autobiographical reminiscences and statements about the power of music on adolescents, few 33 1/3 books manage to wring so much meaning and critical weight from a life's story. Michaelangelo Matos describes his upbringing in the Twin Cities during the 1980s and how his love of Prince's double-album masterpiece was fueled by hometown pride ? these early pages form the foundation on which his arguments rest, making this the rare book where you get to know both the author and the critic intimately.