His name is Scott Yanow, not Yankow, and his books on Swing and Bebop are among my favorite resources. The ratings are not inflated and he has a special section for each artist for recordings on vinyl that haven't made the transition to CD. What I really like about his books is that he writes more from the perspective of a fan than of a critic. Meaning, he is not interested in panning bad recordings, rather in recommending some really wonderful records by some outstanding musicians.
Randy
Randy