Indeed, his first book was a collaboration with his biologist mother entitled Exploding the Gene Myth, in which they wrote that "The myth of the all-powerful gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

 is based on flawed science that discounts the environment in which we and our genes exist." "There are no definitive histories," he would come to write in How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll (2009) "because the past keeps looking different as the present changes."

Books

• The Blues: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 0195398939.
• How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music, Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 9780195341546.
• Global Minstrels: Voices of World Music, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 0415979293.
• Riding With Strangers: A Hitchhiker's Journey, Chicago Review Press, 2006, ISBN 1556526059.
• Dave Van Ronk: The Mayor of MacDougal Street (co-authored with Van Ronk), Da Capo, 2005, ISBN 0306814072.
• Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, Amistad, 2005, ISBN 0060524235.
• Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns and Guerrillas, HarperCollins, 2002, ISBN 0060505103, also published in Spanish as Narcocorrido: un viaje dentro de la música de drogas, armas, y guerrilleros, Rayo, 2001, ISBN 0060937959.
• Josh White: Society Blues, University of Massachusetts Press, 2000, ISBN 1558492690.
• River of Song: A Musical Journey Down the Mississippi (co-authored with John Junkerman), St. Martin's Press, 1998, ISBN 0312200595.
• Exploding the Gene Myth: how genetic information is produced and manipulated by scientists, physicians, employers, insurance companies, educators, and law enforcers (with Ruth Hubbard), Beacon Press, 1993, 1997, 1999; 1999 edition ISBN 0807004316.

Discography

• Street Corner Cowboys (CD, Black Rose Records, 2000)
• Dominic Kakolobango, African Acoustic (CD, Africassette, 2001); producer, acoustic guitar, liner notes
• Elijah Wald: Songster, Fingerpicker, Shirtmaker (LP, Reckless)

Liner notes, curatorship, etc.

This is a very partial list.

• Snooks Eaglin: New Orleans Street Singer (Smithsonian/Folkways; supervised 2005 reissue)
• The Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Box: "The Journey of Chris Strachwitz" (Arhoolie, 2002; co-produced and wrote liner notes)
• Dave Van Ronk: The Mayor of MacDougal Street (Rootstock, 2005; curated as a companion piece to the book of the same name)
• Back to the Crossroads: The Roots of Robert Johnson (Yazoo Records, 2005; curated as a companion piece to Escaping the Delta)
• Corridos y Narcocorridos (Fonovisa, 2002; curated as a companion piece to Wald's Narcocorridos book)
• Josh White: Free and Equal Blues (Smithsonian/Folkways, 2000; curated as a companion piece to Josh White: Society Blues)
• The Mississippi: River of Song (Smithsonian/Folkways, 1999, two-CD set curated as a companion piece to the four-part television series and book of the same name)

Videography

• The Guitar Stylings of Joseph Spence (instructional DVD, Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop)

External links

• Elijah Wald – Writer, Musician, Wald's official web site
• The 'Mayor of MacDougal Street', KUOW-FM
  KUOW-FM
  KUOW-FM 94.9 is a National Public Radio affiliate radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is a top-ranked radio station in the Seattle/Tacoma media market...
  
  , 2005-04-20. Segment about Dave Van Ronk
  Dave Van Ronk
  Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
  
   begins at 00:06:00, including interview with Wald by Megan Sukys 00:07:30 - 00:26:30.
• Escaping the Delta, KUOW-FM, 2004-02-10. Dave Beck interviews Wald about Robert Johnson 00:01:30 - 00:20:00.
• A Hitchhiker's Guide to America, Talk of the Nation
  Talk of the Nation
  Talk of the Nation is a talk radio program based in the United States, produced by National Public Radio, and is broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Its focus is current events and controversial issues....
  
  , NPR, 2006-07-06. Neal Conan
  Neal Conan
  Neal Conan is an American radio journalist, producer, editor, and correspondent. He is senior host of the National Public Radio talk show Talk of the Nation....
  
  interviews Wald; page also includes an excerpt from Wald's Riding with Strangers: A Hitchhiker's Journey.