"King was a bad-ass, " says Rieder, a sociology professor at Barnard College in New York who spent a decade listening to King's private and public recordings.

CNN: How MLK became an angry black man

In the third volume, finely translated into English by Margaret Jull Costa, Tupra forces Deza to watch a collection of incriminating videotapes of important public figures, recordings of unconventional private lives and horrific acts of violence.

ECONOMIST: European fiction

Horowitz contracted a private company to cut lacquer disc recordings of all of his Carnegie Hall recitals.

NPR: Horowitz Rediscovered At Carnegie Hall

Newman's presence came at a key time: Though there are recordings of Tatum in private later, this is one of the few known documents from the early '40s, when the piano titan was at the peak of his powers.

NPR: A Jazz Genius Goofs Off