The Devil's Horn -- It has a catchy title don't you think? Michael Segell's 2005 effort described on the cover "as the story of the saxophone, from noisy novelty to king of cool." Didn't you do a review of that book Ed?
I have, and my comments were not all that attractive.
The author took his journey into the world of things saxophonic (from a cold, tyro start) as the armature around which his story (such as it is) is woven.
There are sections on Sax and his history with the instrument, the American/French school of playing, various jazz folks and so forth. Most of this is from the point of view of an outsider looking in, and there's nothing new or exciting to be found in any of this.
(Most of the sections on styles of playing are like a dilute version of the usual "interview" style article in The Saxophone Journal.)
From the tenor of the sections pertaining to his pursuit of saxophone playing, you get the distinct impression that he was trying to get by with minimal effort. As I recall it, the author couldn't read music at all at the start of the process, and his "progress" was (like his effort) minimal through the course of the book.
I paid list price for the book with high expectations, and felt cheated once I had read it. Paul Lindemeyer's book is, while not "scholarly" by any stretch of the imagination, a far better value for the money.
I suffer financially so that others may benefit...