Encouraged by the success of their collaboration on the critically acclaimed "Chet Atkins--Me and My Guitars," the team of Russ and Michael Cochran envisioned a similar book on electric guitar godfather Les Paul. Impressed with the exceptional quality and content of the Chet book, Les enthusiastically agreed to give the project his full and very personal support. After three years and hundreds of intimate hours spent with Les, the result is their latest book, "Les Paul - In His Own Words."

Russ says:

"My brother Michael is a man of many talents, but one of particular rarity is his gift for writing in the authentic voice of someone else. After many hours of recorded interviews and conversations with our hero, Chet Atkins, Mike created all the text in the book, weaving together Chet's recollections and expressions with his own insights to create a first-person narrative approved by Chet and his family without change of a single word. Perhaps the greatest compliment came from Chet's old friend Eddy Arnold, who said, "It's just like Chet is sitting right there talking to you. The book is him, like he spoke every word."

Michael says:

"Russ has always been a pain in the butt, and so smart that he earned his Ph.D in Physics at age 26, and then became head of the Physics Department at Drake University before moving back to West Plains, Missouri, our hometown in the Ozarks, to establish himself as a publisher of books for collectors and a major buyer and seller of original comic art. With more than 40 years experience as a successful publisher of high-quality books, his eagle eye for detail, intuition for layout design and uncompromising dedication to quality elevated our Chet book from a good read to a work of art. And he's the only person I know who is better than me at solving crossword puzzles."

For the Les Paul book, Russ and Mike made many visits to Les's New Jersey home, recording interviews and sifting through mountains of memorabilia generated by his 75 year career as an entertainer, inventor and ground-breaking guitarist. Nashville photographer Wolf Hoffmann joined them on several trips to photograph the hundreds of guitars in Les's personal collection. Les Paul's larger-than-life personality and unique way of expressing himself is very different in contrast to Chet Atkins, and the text of the book once again captures the essence and voice of the man himself. People who have known him for decades applaud the text as "sounding just like Les." A lifelong Les Paul fan wrote, "I've always wanted to meet Les, and after reading this book, I feel like I have."