Which are the best books about the Blues?

I am interested in reading something of its early history and about the way of life of the people that created it.

There is a great series on DVD called the blues, it was organised by Martin Scorcese, it's a series of 7 films with different directors, there is also a book and a box set, to acompany the series. Another good book is 'Chasin that devil music' by Gayle Dean Wardlow.

Agree with the first.

This may not be "the best", but I like it the best: "Michael Blooomfield, If You Love These Blues" by Wolkin and Keenom. It's a great book on this genius, the text was gotten from a number of interviews with those who knew and played with him. But then, Bloomfield is my personal guitar hero. I think that anyone who reads it would like it. Talks a lot about when the first northside white kids started hanging around the Chicago south side blues clubs.

My 2 favorites were Willie Dixon's, "I Am The Blues" and Sandra Tooze's Muddy Waters bio, "Muddy Waters".
Similar stories, but also very different. Both books revolve around Muddy and Willie's escapes/departures from the plantations of Mississippi, travels, hard times, and landing in Chicago.....but still being clueless on the next step.
Dixon's book was an autobiography, and had a great feel for detail and stories along the way. Muddy's was really researched well, and both qre easy, interesting reads.

Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey is great. I got a copy from Wymans eBay store, 拢5 cheaper than the shops and signed by the man himself.

I like and highly recomend Deep Blues by Robert Palmer. If you read no other book on the Blues you can still consider yourself well read on the subject.

Look for biographies about blues legends. Love in Vain:
AVision of Robert Johnson is a good start. The book is available at Amazon.com.