The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the reader with the state of the recorder as a musical instrument in this century. Information has been gathered from standard texts and journal articles to gain more recent ideas. The work is divided into three sections: (1) a brief history of the instrument; (2) a biographical sketch of Arnold Dolmetsch, the man who was most responsible for the revival of the recorder in this century; and (3) a detailed examination of the use of the recorder today. This last section includes the recorder in education, music written for it, recorder performance and organizations, and construction of the recorder. An appendix lists recorders that are available to players in this country. It is this writer's conclusion that the recorder today has regained its status as a performing medium.