-"American Folk Songs is a 'must' for any library: it provides a range of lyrics to regional folk songs across the country, discussing the influence of immigrants, social and political events, ballad and song, history, and more. Two volumes of information divided by region offer song history and analysis alike, making for a powerful musical and social history survey highly recommended for high school to college-level collections strong in American music history." —The Midwest Book Review

-"The author begins with a useful political chronology from 1607 to 1912. Each chapter begins with a regional overview, then state overviews, in the context of history. Cohen selected examples from cheap print in the nineteenth century because: these are hard to find today; printed versions had older and more complete texts; and they are in the public domain. His theory is that folk songs indicate attitudes and opinions of the people rather than mundane historical facts found in textbooks. For instance, some folk songs that commemorate a war battle will reflect the sentimental emotions toward the heroes or tragedies of those close to the writer, and not the political or tactical implications of the conflict." —ARBA

-"This set is a collection of several hundred American folk songs sorted according to regional interest andderivation. A brief introduction does an effective job of summarizing the wealth of cultural and historical knowledge that can be gleaned from the study of folk songs as well as acknowledging the difficulties in identifying definitive origins. ... ...These songs tell great stories, which can result in addictive browsing. Large public and academic collections will want to acquire this unique and appealing resource, which will be of interest to musicians,historians, and folklorists." —Booklist