The Rest is Noise

Alex Ross's first book The Rest is Noise seems like it'll be a really great book. I've read the first two chapters now, and the book meshes history and music perfectly. He doesn't just give you the life of Strauss and in what year he wrote Salome, he discusses his relationship with Mahler and the opposing style and popularity of Bizet operas at the time. A knowledge of music history is not essential, but is helpful. He is also able to describe difficult and confusing music like Salome, with all its incest and necrophilia, while getting overall idea across. This could basically supplement a 20th century music history text, although there is no music notation.