No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: This book only covers up to 1985 or so (because that's when it was written), but for the Hibbing-to-1985 period it's the best possible Dylan biography.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for true dylan fans
Review: This book was so well written and planned. this book makes you feel as if you have been through many of Dylan's travels with him. It provides detailed childhood stories about dylan and him intimate relationships. I highly recommend this book for all dylan fans.

Rating:
Summary: Best Dylan Biography
Review: This is the best Dylan biography I've ever read. Not only does it tell what has happened to Dylan, but it has commentary about his albums and the songs on them interspersed in the biography at the time the albums came out. Entertaining and very informative.

Rating:
Summary: Best Dylan Biography
Review: This is the best Dylan biography I've ever read. Not only does it tell what has happened to Dylan, but it has commentary about his albums and the songs on them interspersed in the biography at the time the albums came out. Entertaining and very informative.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: VERY ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE I WOULD RECOMEND THIS FOR ANY DYLAN FA

Rating:
Summary: Good Not Great...
Review: Whether or not this is the BEST Dylan biography is hard to say, there are millions of them out there...certainly it has to be the best-researched, and one of the most heartfelt; Shelton gave Dylan his first great review, "discovered" him, in effect, and though he critically assesses Dylan's subsequent works there's never a doubt that he's Dylan's biggest fan. A midnight conversation on a private jet between Shelton and Dylan in the mid-60's is the best thing in the book, fascinating reading...but there is such a concept as too much of a good thing, and the minutae Shelton indulges in gets tiring. He apparently went to every concert and every party Dylan did, and his insistence on inserting himself into the scene makes me wonder about his objectivity. Maybe Shelton thought he was one of the new journalists. I don't know. But less Shelton would've been helpful. Also, Shelton insists on punctuating almost every paragraph with a hidden line from one of Dylan's songs; for awhile it's clever, but it gets old fast.
The book was out of print for a long time, and that's too bad. I hope it stays in print. It's incredibly packed with facts and interpretations and long quotes both from Dylan and those close to him. It's just TOO MUCH, that's all. But good. A worthy biography of the most potent force in popular music since Sinatra. How's that for a name out of left field?

Rating:
Summary: Detailed and yet Personal
Review: You must be interested in Dylan, as both a folk artist and a renegade, to take on this lengthy biography. If you are though, Shelton provides you with almost a Bible of Dylan from 1941 in Duluth, MN to 1985 in NYC - through all his different stages, his changing emotions, his passions - and of course his music. Getting into Dylan can be intense but he'll rumble your soul and twist your head a couple times so you get to see whats all around you. His influence on music and society is absolutely far-reaching. This book is excellent!!!