Dylan Books
@dylanbooks
The best Bob Dylan books - rated, ranked, reviewed. Based on my collection of over 500 (Gerald Michael Smith). dylanbooks.substack.com
PROMISING NEW SEAN WILENTZ BOOK - COMING SOON I’m looking forward to reading Bob Dylan Through the Open Window (1956–1963), by Sean Wilentz, due 15 Oct from Abrams. According to Abrams, it’s a “substantial expansion of Wilentz’s liner notes to Dylan’s bootleg album box set of the same name”.
Dylan REALLY matters because of his: 1/ Writing - he’s the top songwriter of the last 100 years. 2/ Recording - Dylan’s catalogue dominates rockpop. 3/ Live performance - thousands of gigs Richard F Thomas’ fine book should be in every Dylan collection - you just need to disregard its title
I’m looking forward to reading Gary Browning’s new book, Don't Think Twice - Another Side of Interpretation, to be published on 1 Sept. It will “take Dylan himself to be a good guide to how he is to be taken. He is neither a philosopher nor, despite the Nobel Prize, primarily a literary figure.”
EXCEPTIONAL NEW BOB DYLAN BOOK According to the Nobel Prize winner himself, there’s “a gazillion” Dylan books. Not many are as important as the newest, How Many Roads: A Life of Bob Dylan by Scott Peeples (Reaktion Books, 1 Aug UK, 12 Oct USA). A contender for best Dylan biography?
NEW DYLAN BOOKS - COMING SOON I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing these three new Dylan books, all slated for publication soon… intrinsically interesting topics… authoritative authors… respected publishers… . All three promise to be key additions to the Dylan bookshelves.
NEW - BOB DYLAN: UNCUT GREATS #6 - A BEGINNER’S GUIDE This handsome new one-off from Uncut mag briefly covers the life and legacy. It hits the spot. It’s photo-heavy, text-lite and runs to 66pp. As a Dylan book collector, I’m pleased to have it. I’ll learn little, but I’m not the target.
THE CUTTING EDGE, 1965-1966: TOP BOB DYLAN BOOKS HIDING ON YOUR RECORD SHELVES #2 Bootleg Series Vol 12 deluxe, a Columbia gem, has two very desirable books - the liner notes and the separate Mixing Up The Medicine, a 120 page photo album. The new, reduced price makes it a very attractive buy.
THE BASEMENT TAPES COMPLETE: TOP BOB DYLAN BOOKS HIDING ON YOUR RECORD SHELVES #1 The Basement Tapes Complete (Vol 11) has two books. The first, liner notes in the 6CD housing, is impressive. The second book, Lo & Behold, is a richly detailed bonus - a 120 page photo album.
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UNCUT GREATS - BOB DYLAN: NEW “BOOKAZINE” OUT TODAY I’m looking forward to receiving my copy of Uncut Greats Issue 6: Bob Dylan, which goes on sale today, 26 June. According to the publishers: “The latest Uncut Greats celebrates Bob Dylan, who turns 85 this June…” Eh??? Review to follow…
AND THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY IS… Which biography offers fans the best intro to Dylan’s life and work? I’m interested in Dylan’s work, not his private life - except when it feeds directly into his work. So my pick is Ian Bell’s 2-vol The Lives of Bob Dylan.
THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY? HOWARD SOUNES? Down The Highway by Howard Sounes (2001 and 2011) is probably the top-selling Dylan biography. It focuses on Dylan the man. If your focus is on Dylan the celeb rather than Dylan the artist, Sounes is your best bet.
THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY? CLINTON HEYLIN? The Double Life of Bob Dylan (two vols, 2021 and 2023, 1,356 pp), is the longest, most recent and probably the most discussed of my three contenders for best Dylan biography. Covering the man and the artist in depth, it appeals to the demanding fan.
THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY? IAN BELL? Ian Bell’s is probably the least known of my three contenders for best Bob Dylan biography. His two volumes (2012 and 2013, 1,166 pages), chronicle Dylan’s life and work up to Tempest. He focuses on the work not the private life.
THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY? MY THREE CONTENDERS. AND YOURS? In my opinion, there are three contenders - by Ian Bell, Clinton Heylin and Howard Sounes. All three are blockbusters, Bell and Heylin two vols. I’ll be reviewing them here in my next few posts. Which biography do YOU recommend?
THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY? THOMPSON - THE THIRD OF THREE CLASSICS A would-be writer treks to Hibbing, MN and interviews nearly everyone who counts. Then writes this delightful, recommended book. Republished in 2008 as Positively Main Street: Bob Dylan in Minnesota, by Uni MN Press.
THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY? SHELTON - THE SECOND OF THREE CLASSICS Robert Shelton’s No Direction Home delivers unparalleled coverage of the first quarter of Dylan’s creative life. He interviewed virtually everyone who mattered. Reel also shows Elizabeth Thomson’s two edited versions.
THE BEST BOB DYLAN BIOGRAPHY? SCADUTO - THE FIRST OF 3 CLASSICS Anthony Scaduto’s Bob Dylan is essential - authoritative, insightful and well-written. Scaduto interviewed Dylan and he critiqued Scaduto’s first draft and generally approved. It confirmed that Dylan was a generational talent.
BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES - HAVE YOU READ THE NEW BOOK? Have you read Where The Music Had To Go by Jim Windolf? If so, what do you think of it? I’ve delayed buying this, and before shelling out, I’d value your opinion. Video shows US edition, Simon & Schuster, and UK ed.
DYLAN REVISITED: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED NEW BOOK Colm Larkin’s new book, Dylan Revisited: Busy Being Born (1960-66), examines the singer’s explosive early creativity via a multiplicity of recordings. It’s highly recommended for recent and long-standing fans alike. #dylanrevisited @dylanrevisited
CHRONICLES: THE MOST HIGHLY REGARDED OF BOB DYLAN’S SIX BOOKS Chronicles, Volume One (Simon & Schuster, 2004, hbk, 293pp) is highly regarded. It burnished Dylan’s literary credentials well beyond the fanbase. It’s not a conventional autobio! What do you think of Chronicles, Volume One?
BOB DYLAN’S SIX BOOKS: THE MONUMENTAL MASTERPIECE Of the six books written by Bob Dylan, Lyrics is the most important. It illustrates just why so many regard Dylan as a towering creative genius. Every Dylan home should have one. File next to The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare.
THE SIX BOOKS BY BOB DYLAN: THE ODD ONE OUT Bob Dylan has written six books. Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric is the odd one out. Dylan - a movie nut - supplied 23 short ”prose-poems”, which will interest students of Dylan’s writing. But it’s slim pickings - the least essential book “written by” Dylan.
FOUR MORE NEW DYLAN BOOKS - WITH A NOD TO THE BEATLES New Dylan books just keep on coming - these four drop in the next few weeks. Are they worth reading? Watch this space.
PEAK BOB DYLAN: 1963-78? OR 1991-2024? OR SOME OTHER PERIOD? Two recent heavyweight Dylan books, by Ron Rosenbaum and Robert Polito - both highly recommended - have different opinions on when Dylan was producing his best work. Rosenbaum prefers earlier Dylan. Polito prefers 1991-2024. You?
IS BOB DYLAN’S LATER WORK REALLY “HIS MOST AMBITIOUS AND ACCOMPLISHED”? After The Flood, Robert Polito’s outstanding new book, covers Dylan’s work 1991’-2024. It’s impressive: original. richly detailed, beautifully written. He regards Dylan later work as “his most ambitious and accomplished”.
NEW: FRESH PERSPECTIVES ON DYLAN’S CREATIVITY Author Kevin Kane has a commendably clear aim: to analyse Dylan’s creativity. He’s impressive discussing the wider culture. And he offers some interesting perspectives. That said, his book’s a little too discursive for me.
THE SMALLEST DYLAN BOOK While The Lyrics Since 1962 (see recent post) is the biggest, heaviest, least usable Dylan book, the smallest, most user-friendly Dylan book in my collection is The Little Guide To Bob Dylan: How Does It Feel? It’s a pocket-sized collection of Dylan quotes. Recommended.
DYLAN MOJO ESSENTIALS - NEWLY UPDATED MOJO Essentials are commendable introductions, aimed at newer fans. The updated version of the Dylan issue, first published in 2023, will please Bobfans pulled in by A Complete Unknown. Grizzled Boomers won’t learn much from it.