Louis Armstrong is known to the world as the most influential
jazz trumpeter of the past century. Author Gary Giddins calls
him "the genius who transformed American music." Through the
decades, Armstrong won over new audiences outside the jazz world
with his appearances on popular TV shows and in hit movies. As
'Ambassador Satch' his face became famous in the far corners of
the earth. He performed throughout Africa, Asia and Russia on
official State Department tours—in an era before such
international jet-setting was commonplace. PHOTO GALLERY CLICK
HERE Few were aware of what an articulate and prolific writer
Armstrong was until the publication of his journals in Louis
Armstrong, In His Own Words: Selected Writings, edited by Thomas
Brothers and published by Oxford University Press. On the road,
Armstrong always traveled with his Smith-Corona typewriter and
filled handwritten notebooks with his musings. Armstrong wrote
candidly on a wide range of subjects including—the history and
styles of jazz, his career,