It’s time we heard from Krassen:
I certainly don’t think my book is “the best” by any means. I do think it was a very well-intentioned addition to what was available in '76. Since then many excellent books have come out and Irish music has undergone a renaissance. I wanted my book, which by the way, lists “Miles Krassen” as author, not O’Neill, and is entitled, “O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, Revised,” to be a tribute to the great players I knew and the 78rpm recordings they loved. Had the publisher allowed me to write a book just focused on that goal, including maybe 50-60 settings, it might have been better. But the publisher wasn’t interested in that. They just wanted to get a copyright for something called “O’Neill’s,” and that is the only book on Irish music they were willing to publish in '76.