This is a great collection, lovingly done by The Smithsonian staff that is saving and cleaning and re-issuing the old Folkways catalogue. The booklet alone is worth the purchase price, but the music is excellent as well. Woody's recording career only went a little over ten years due to the coming of the Chorea in the early l950's, but he still laid down too many good tracks to be confined to one album. However, if you can only afford one of his releases, this is a wonderful choice. Second choice would be the re-issue of "Dust Bowl Ballads" on Buddah Records...this was his l940 "concept" album that has had a profound effect on folk, country and protest music ever since. Also, I have to recommend a book to Guthrie fans: "Woody, Cisco and Me" by Jim Longhi. It shows the slice of Woody's life that involved a few journeys on Merchant Marine ships during WWII. It is an essential companion piece to Joe Klein's "Life of Woody Guthrie."