No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan

Rating:
Summary: Not the Place to Start . . .
Review: . . .start (of course) with the albums, of course, especially "Freewheelin'," "Highway 61 Revisited," "Blonde on Blonde," and "John Wesley Harding," "Basement Tapes," "Blood on the Tracks," "Bootleg Series Vol 4," and maybe "World Gone Wrong." Then check out "Don't Look Back" on DVD. Shelton's book has a lot of great information about Dylan, but it's not the best organized or most concise biography you'll ever come across (maybe it's the editor who worked on the book's fault [?]). It's also now a bit dated, published in 1986. Clinton Heylin's "Man Behind the Shades" (1991) and Howard Sounes' "Down the Highway" (2001) are both more up-to-date and easier reads. Greil Marcus' "Invisible Republic" (1997)does a better job of placing Dylan's music in a historical context. "No Direction Home" is a sprawling collection of interview excepts, biography, oral history, the author's personal recollections of Dylan, musicology, and literary criticism that never really connects the dots, but there is a lot of great information for the experienced or semi-experienced Dylan enthusiast to wade through

Rating:
Summary: Not the Place to Start . . .
Review: . . .start (of course) with the albums, of course, especially "Freewheelin'," "Highway 61 Revisited," "Blonde on Blonde," and "John Wesley Harding," "Basement Tapes," "Blood on the Tracks," "Bootleg Series Vol 4," and maybe "World Gone Wrong." Then check out "Don't Look Back" on DVD. Shelton's book has a lot of great information about Dylan, but it's not the best organized or most concise biography you'll ever come across (maybe it's the editor who worked on the book's fault [?]). It's also now a bit dated, published in 1986. Clinton Heylin's "Man Behind the Shades" (1991) and Howard Sounes' "Down the Highway" (2001) are both more up-to-date and easier reads. Greil Marcus' "Invisible Republic" (1997)does a better job of placing Dylan's music in a historical context. "No Direction Home" is a sprawling collection of interview excepts, biography, oral history, the author's personal recollections of Dylan, musicology, and literary criticism that never really connects the dots, but there is a lot of great information for the experienced or semi-experienced Dylan enthusiast to wade through

Rating:
Summary: The best Dylan book ever writen
Review: A master in the day, Bob Dylan's story of his early coffee shop day up untill about the mid-80's. Robert Shelton in 1961 wrote a article for Dylan that help his music take off.Dylan went from the Village folk scene to performing in front of large crowds of people. This book shows the transition from a coffee shop to the big stage. While telling you a blow for blow story of Dylan's life right up untill the mid-80's. The story starts out close to Dylan and over the span of the novel it come more of a distant observer. This book summerizes the whole time period and makes Dylan's personality better known. His songs have more impact now that you understand his motives. I recomend reading it.

Rating:
Summary: This is a GRATE book!
Review: Even though I just picked this book up yesterday and haven't read through barely any of it, it is excellent! It's filled with interiews and anecdotes and very detailed. It also goes through each album and explains each song. This is a great book about his childhood, teenage years and his music years!

Rating:
Summary: All sides and aspects of a cherished and popular figure
Review: Expertly written by Robert Shelton (the New York Times music and popular culture reviewer generally credited for "discovering" Dylan in 1961), No Direction Home: The Life And Music Of Bob Dylan is a faithful and definitive biography of the talented artist and his unforgettable music. An extensively detailed chronicle which explores all sides and aspects of a cherished and popular figure in American music, No Direction Home is a welcome addition to 20th Century Music History Studies collections and "must" reading for all Bob Dylan fans.

Rating:
Summary: All sides and aspects of a cherished and popular figure
Review: Expertly written by Robert Shelton (the New York Times music and popular culture reviewer generally credited for "discovering" Dylan in 1961), No Direction Home: The Life And Music Of Bob Dylan is a faithful and definitive biography of the talented artist and his unforgettable music. An extensively detailed chronicle which explores all sides and aspects of a cherished and popular figure in American music, No Direction Home is a welcome addition to 20th Century Music History Studies collections and "must" reading for all Bob Dylan fans.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful observance from a friend
Review: I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I've read about Dylan so I can't say this is the best because I have nothing to compare it with but I found it very enjoyable and I liked the fact that the author is a friend and who acknowledges that so we know from what bias he is writing, a bias I rather enjoyed because there really is no objective way to look at Dylan- it's all subjective and this book is a great subjective overview. I also enjoyed how the author gave his commentary on Dylan's music and lyrics but left room for other interpretations- I think that's how Dylan wants his lyrics to be interpreted- leaving them open for each individual to have his own opinion. It's also cute how the author uses Dylan's lyrics to name his chapters and sections. I recommend this book to anyone who's a Dylan fan and/or interested in the folk/rock music period of the early 60's especially.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful observance from a friend
Review: I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I've read about Dylan so I can't say this is the best because I have nothing to compare it with but I found it very enjoyable and I liked the fact that the author is a friend and who acknowledges that so we know from what bias he is writing, a bias I rather enjoyed because there really is no objective way to look at Dylan- it's all subjective and this book is a great subjective overview. I also enjoyed how the author gave his commentary on Dylan's music and lyrics but left room for other interpretations- I think that's how Dylan wants his lyrics to be interpreted- leaving them open for each individual to have his own opinion. It's also cute how the author uses Dylan's lyrics to name his chapters and sections. I recommend this book to anyone who's a Dylan fan and/or interested in the folk/rock music period of the early 60's especially.

Rating:
Summary: If Blake were walking the earth...
Review: If Blake were walking the earth, or Jeremiah for that matter raging in the imperial wilderness, he'd be Bob Dylan with a mouth harp and a song for the poor and languageless. Robert Shelton was there from the beginning in the Village, and knows the poetry and the soul's plot. This is still the best book on Bob Dylan, who is the real poet laureate of American Jeremaiad Visionary Company of love.

Rating:
Summary: If Blake were walking the earth...
Review: If Blake were walking the earth, or Jeremiah for that matter raging in the imperial wilderness, he'd be Bob Dylan with a mouth harp and a song for the poor and languageless. Robert Shelton was there from the beginning in the Village, and knows the poetry and the soul's plot. This is still the best book on Bob Dylan, who is the real poet laureate of American Jeremaiad Visionary Company of love.