Guy Rickards' innovative biography examines three German composers - Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-63) and Hans Werner Henze (b. 1926) - and demonstrates how a number of parallels can be drawn between their works, influences and roles in musical history, despite their varied backgrounds, musical approaches and political leanings. A combination of new directions and German traditions was common to the music of all three composers; their works acknowledged the musical heritage of their homeland while also expanding and adding to it. During the twentieth century, the entwined lives of these three men served to create new paths and possibilities for the development of German music.