​"A fascinating overview of a time and place that will never be replicated. It left me nostalgic for how good we had it in those days, when giants such as Junior Wells, Louis Myers, Fenton Robinson, Eddie Taylor, Luther Allison, Jimmy Rogers, and Otis Rush were common attractions on Chicago’s wide-ranging scene. For a lively account of what it was like to have numerous options every night to enjoy vital Chicago blues up close and personal, Harper’s book can’t be beat."  Bill Dahl, ARSC Journal

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A vivid illustration of the 1980s music scene in a city which has fostered the blues like no other. There were hundreds of musicians and a bewildering number of styles, yet he manages to do them all justice... through extended interviews with musicians, record executives, radio DJs and club owners, as well as his own excellent photographs. Some scarily picaresque characters found in him a worthwhile confidant.”  The Times Literary Supplement

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"He tells a good story and is a very fine writer, and folklorists and casual readers alike will be entertained by his adventures. He takes the reader on an enjoyable ride, painting an accessible picture of Chicago in the 80s, a time capsule as seen from an outsider’s perspective."  Journal of Folklore Research, Indiana University

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"Essential reading for fans of one of the most influential musical genres, and Harper's evocative images show he is a skilled lensman and perceptive and entertaining writer." Amateur Photographer

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Alan takes you on a  journey... you almost get the sense how it felt to play some of the joints and duck the flying chairs when fights broke out. The personal side of this book is what gives it its strength and depth and holds you page by page. This has to be a recommended read." Blues Matters magazine

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"Spiced with anecdotes that make it easy to turn the page... Harper really goes into depth, and tells of his experiences with a much-needed critical distance. With hindsight these years mark the definitive end of a great period of the Chicago blues and the beginning of the new, lesser era." Jefferson magazine

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"Combining personal accounts with finely combed historical content, offering not only a “good read” for music fans, but important historical documentation of the people and places of this seminal era. The timelines, biographical notes and index — like a textbook attachment to his memoir—provide any blues enthusiast or beginner to the genre a great source of reference." The Chicago Ambassador

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“Harper manages both considerable factual reportage and offers astute insights not only into the music but also the politics, the society, the times and this specific city." Peter Bacon, The Jazz Breakfast 

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Terrific. Really a pleasure, and the clearest-eyed view of the Chicago scene I've ever read." Elijah Wald

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"Simply the year's best blues book - highly recommended." Richard Gjems, Blues News

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"Harper's memoir is beautifully wrought, and populated with an array of vivid and memorable characters......Flecked with insight, wit and warmth, it proves to be an evocative portrait of a bygone era." Mojo

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"Personal stories are the strength of the book... a wonderfully wide-ranging series of short interviews with an impressive cross-section of Chicago blues society. Appendices, with notes and brief biographies of all the bluesmen referred to, give weight to the anecdotal main text." The Jazz Rag

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​"Harper's account is easy-going and conversational but his deep knowledge is undisguised. It is an affectionate account of a cultural moment passing into memory." Scottish Review of Books

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"Richly detailed and thought-provoking... first-hand insight." Living Blues

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​"Harper shares his stories of searching for the blues in Chicago in his crisply told, energetic, and vibrant memoir."  Henry Carrigan, No Depression

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​"Waiting for Buddy Guy is a fascinating book ... a delight." Jazz Journal

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​"Harper absorbed Chicago blues utterly and wholly, and in this gem of a book, he imparts his passion and knowledge in a witty, intelligent, revealing and honest manner. It’s a real page-turner." Record Collector magazine

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"He had a beer or two with many musicians and promoters, stored a wealth of anecdotes and writes (unlike many music writers) self-effacingly—aware that he is not the main subject of interest." David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express, Milwaukee

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"An absolute must-have book for the blues fan.... Any book that leaves you wanting more is – well, it’s like a great concert that makes you want the owner to leave the bar open for one more round, one more encore. A tip of the pork pie hat to Alan Harper for sharing what the witnesses witnessed." Hubert O'Hearn, American Blues Scene

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“This is a time capsule, and Harper allows us to unwrap it without any commentary...   Like the music that he documents (and makes you want to run out and hear), like the clubs he describes (and ditto to visit), Waiting for Buddy Guy just is. And it’s all the better for it.”  Dave Thompson, Goldmine 

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​“As much an unblinking eyewitness account, full of telling detail, as an intriguing social history, dealing with such burning issues as authenticity, racial politics, music-industry practices, etc. From Sugar Blue to Willie Dixon, from Son Seals to Sunnyland Slim – the whole vibrant Chicago blues scene is captured here in a book which is both immediately accessible and constructed with scrupulous care.” Chris Parker, London Jazz News

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​"You gotta check out this book, it is absolutely terrific." - Nick Digilio, WGN Radio, Chicago, 8 March 2016.  Author interview with Nick Digilio

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"This rich memoir captures not only the music, but the memories of many of Chicago's great blues legends and others who lived during this important era." PopMatters

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“It looks at the blues in a state of flux in Chicago, when the old guard was still playing and the new boys were coming in. What I like about it is he’s not afraid to discuss the racial questions in the blues.”  David Freeman, Blues & Boogie, Jazz FM London

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"Harper tells the story with a lively anecdotal flair that ropes the reader in from the first few pages with a wealth of fond memories for those, like me, that were on the scene at the time. 45 candid black and white Harper photographs add faces to the storytellers. Very recommended." Gary von Tersch, Big City Blues

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"There is a new book out that I am proud to be a part of. Great interviews with some legendary folks. Check it out and buy a copy!!!" Steve Freund, blues guitarist

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"An amazing historical document with some great insights and humour."  Blues & Rhythm​​​​​​​​​​​​​