Do not sell at any price: the wild, obsessive hunt for the world's rarest 78rpm records

Before MP3s, CDs, and cassette tapes, even before LPs or 45s, the world listened to music on fragile, 10-inch shellac discs that spun at 78 revolutions per minute.

While vinyl has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, rare and noteworthy 78rpm records are exponentially harder to come by.

The most sought-after sides now command tens of thousands of dollars, when they're found at all.

This book tells the untold story of a fixated coterie of record collectors working to ensure those songs aren't lost forever.

Music critic and author Amanda Petrusich considers the particular world of the 78-from its heyday to its near extinction - and examines how a cabal of competitive, quirky individuals have been frantically lining their shelves with some of the rarest records in the world.