A prudent tactic when assembling a puzzle is to start from the outside—establish the corners, the flat edges, what is known—and then move inward to the more deceptive, more challenging parts of the picture. Out of that same strategy comes Pieces of a Man, Marcus Baram’s biographical look at musical pioneer Gil Scott-Heron. Much credit has been given to Scott-Heron for, in essence, inventing hip-hop or at least providing its catalyst with the cultural earthquake generated by 1971’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” Baram’s chronicle argues with enough supporting evidence that not only is the approbation warranted from that genre’s offspring, but also that gratitude should come from artists of all mediums for a man that took his inner turmoil and presented it like few before him had, ultimately shaping the future with his views of the present. Like most tragic figures, the demons anticipated in Scott-Heron’s tale have their unfortunate role, obstructing his path as much as explaining it, but do not define him or distract Baram’s account. The book’s title draws an obvious reference to the album that houses some of Scott-Heron’s most influential work, but is really a corner piece of this fascinating American life. Larson Sutton