The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan

A good short course in the history of the most talented pop musician/philosopher of our time.

This book is a must for the serious Dylan fan. It is an encyclopedia of information dealing with Bob Dylan, his career, music, etc. I loved it!

I bought this a year or so ago, but I didn't think it necessary to make a review. However, after a year, I must say that this little book is a great reference and I keep it close on hand. I have referred to this book often and it has guided me in choosing some albums first and leaving others for last. It is hard to get very accurate opinions on any given album since everyone is different, and even Bob Dylan is not always reliable because it was he who threw away Blind Willie McTell and Foot of Pride which are both masterpieces. However, this little book is okay. Just yesterday I went back to it to look up more information on my lastest pick which was Oh Mercy! which I think of as a MASTERPIECE album, and sure enough the book stated that it was superbly atmospheric. That is absolutely correct, and furthermore, there was more information about the recording history and about the producer/guitarist who helped make this album so outstanding. I learned that Man in the Long Black Coat was written right there in the studio and executed in one take. I found that utterly amazing information that just blew me away. There is even a picture of Suzie and Bob together at the apartment and Suzie looks so utterly happy and in love (life changes fast) (you can see the sequence to this picture in Dylan: Visions, Portaits and Back Pages). So this book is as packed and informative as a little book can get and I do use it often. Yes I recommend it!

This is a great book, espicially for someone who has just discovered Dylan. It's packed with info on his personal life and music. A fun read.

I bought this book at a bookstore recently after a brief look at it and was surprised at the awesome amount of researched material in it from song backgrounds, personal information, history and hard to find facts about his personal life and what influenced some of his songwriting etc. This frankly is the BEST one volume I have found on Bob Dylan, and I couldn't recommend it higher. I have been a Dylan fan since 1964.