Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine

by Mark Davidson, Parker Fishel

Several years ago, a treasure trove containing some 6,000 original Bob Dylan manuscripts was revealed to exist. Their destination? Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The documents, as essential as they are intriguing—draft lyrics, notebooks, and diverse ephemera— comprise one of the most important cultural archives in the modern world. Along with countless still and moving images and thousands of hours of riveting studio and live recordings, this priceless collection now resides at The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, just steps away from the archival home of Dylan’s early hero, Woody Guthrie.

Nearly all the materials preserved at The Bob Dylan Center are unique, previously unavailable, and, in many cases, even previously unknown. As the official publication of The Bob Dylan Center, BOB MIXING UP THE MEDICINE is the first wide-angle look at the Dylan archive, a book that promises to be of vast interest to both the Nobel Laureate’s many musical fans and to a broader national and international audience as well.

Edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, BOB MIXING UP THE MEDICINE focuses a close look at the full scope of Dylan’s working life, particularly from the dynamic perspective of his ongoing and shifting creative processes—his earliest home recordings in the mid-1950s right up through Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020), his most recent studio recording, and into the present day.

The centerpiece of BOB MIXING UP THE MEDICINE is a carefully curated selection of over 600 images including never-before-circulated draft lyrics, writings, photographs, drawings and other ephemera from the Dylan archive.

With an introductory essay by Sean Wilentz and epilogue by Douglas Brinkley, the book features a surprising range of distinguished writers, artists and musicians, including Joy Harjo, Greil Marcus, Michael Ondaatje, Gregory Pardlo, Amanda Petrusich, Tom Piazza, Lee Ranaldo, Alex Ross, Ed Ruscha, Lucy Sante, Greg Tate and many others. After experiencing the collection firsthand in Tulsa, each of the authors was asked to select a single item that beguiled or inspired them. The resulting essays, written specifically for this volume, shed new light on not only Dylan’s creative process, but also their own.
 
BOB MIXING UP THE MEDICINE is an unprecedented glimpse into the creative life of one of America’s most groundbreaking, influential and enduring artists.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Poetry, Art

608 pages, Hardcover

Published October 24, 2023

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I heard Bob Dylan I felt the melody spiral from the speakers and dive straight into my heart, wrapping it in guitar chords and forever enrapturing me with his music. Being shown Neil Young right alongside discovering Dylan, I immediately had my mother buy me a guitar and have been playing since I was 12 years old, always with a harmonica around my neck to be like my early hero. I cannot overstate the grip his first few albums had on me at an impressionable age or how much I just absorbed It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue into my personality as a teen. And so, having long looked at Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine on the shelves at the bookstore where I work, I finally had to break down and get it and let me tell you: worth every penny. This thing is a massive tome full of photos (many never before printed), Dylan’s original manuscripts and endless essays from a wonderfully wide variety of writers on a musician that, even if you don’t like him, you have to admit was incredibly influential to modern music history.

‘Some people say that I am a poet,’ Dylan wrote in the notes on the back of his album Bringing It All Back Home, and there is certainly poetry in his words and influences. Beyond musicians like his hero Woody Gutherie, Dylan has a lot of interesting background in poets like Dylan Thomas—from whom he nicked his stage name in place of Zimmerman—or even Ovid, signing lines from the old poet like ‘every nook and cranny has its tears’ on the song Ain’t Talking’. It would be his poetic sensibilities that eventually lead to him being named the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature—the only musician to ever be awarded—an honor for which he gave zero fucks and has never even acknowledged. Which is the most Bob Dylan thing ever, lets be honest. It also pissed a lot of people off, not unlike his landmark album Highway 61 Revisited which shifted to an electric sound that rather notoriously upset a lot of people as is covered in the book—and penning classic hits like his landmark album Highway 61 Revisited. Moving to an electric sound—that rather notoriously upset a lot of people as is covered in the book Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties(you can hear the crowd booing in this live performance of Like A Rolling Stone from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival). Still, what made Bob Dylan so special ‘was his words,’ as David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills & Nash) once said of him, ‘that’s what Bob stunned the world with. Up until then we had ‘oooh, baby’ and ‘I love you, baby.’ Bob changed the map. He gave us really, really good words.’ This book offers a glimpse into Dylan’s own notebooks and song lyric ideas, which is really cool to see. The whole thing is mostly a curio full of rare ephemera, but a rather well put together one that is undeniably really cool and really awesome to have.

The book goes from his early beginnings through to his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. There are great essays on albums like Time Out of Mind which was full of songs Dylan referred to as ‘the dread realities of life,’ his double album Blonde on Blonde, which Dylan called ‘the closest I ever got to the sound I hear in my mind,’ the time he played at the March of Washington and the song The Times They Are A-Changin’ (‘I wanted to write a big song in a simple way’) and much, much more. It is a fun book, a collectors item for sure, but one you’ll want to flip through and read, not just display on your shelf. But then again I love Dylan so I may be biased but this was well worth it.

[Matt Redmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic.

Mesmerizing.

And hard to put down…though it weighs a ton.

I’ve read about 40-50 Dylan books…by him and about him…and nothing comes as close as this to being comprehensive and engaging.

I cannot believe how much I learned.

Essential reading for any fan.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Dylan's music has always been part of my life, he was playing and recording before I was born. His writings have influenced many people and his songs are stories within themselves. He expresses himself through his music and he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 in recognition "for having created new poetic expressions within the Great American song industry." This made him the first-ever songwriter who had won this, previously given to "traditional authors". This in itself is a testament to his writing and creativity. Although he was a reluctant recipient. Not one to shy away from making a point, his songs have, at times caused controversy, and he is known to write about history. He has been making records for 60 years and his last album was released in 2020 - Rough & Rowdy Ways.

This book is an in-depth look at the life of Bob Dylan, from his childhood, school friends and gradually up to the present day. The book is made up of photos, images, album covers, notes, memos and quotes from other music industry artists. This man has sold more than 100 million records. He is a legend who was born in 1941 and he has many songs that have been covered by others.

This book is immense. And each page is filled, no room for blank pages in this book! The images are from backstage, home life, with friends, family and influential people from around the world. Added to this are the album covers, if the bootlegs, singles, and other releases were added then that would be a book on its own.

As I was reading through this book I got a further insight into this artist. I didn't know huge amounts about him and I didn't realise just how many songs he had written. I really enjoyed the pieces written by other artists as they were asked to write an essay about what was it about Dylan that beguiled or inspired them.

The Bob Dylan Centre holds all the original manuscripts, notebooks and various other paraphernalia from his life. Having access to a book like this means you can get a glimpse into the life of this artist. He does give interviews but these tend to be guarded, in life a private man notorious for his inclusiveness and silence.

The book is laid out in various sections from 1941 up to 2023, with an introduction, epilogue, index, credits and permissions.

The book is a treasure trove and I found myself singing some of the lyrics instead of reading them! Of course, this meant pulling up a Dylan playlist.

This book is a tome, a book you definitely need to sit at a table with or need very strong hands. I adored everything about this book and even though I have read through it once I still keep coming back to it. The photos and information that are included are interesting and enlightening. It is a great book to read and learn more about the man behind the music.

It is one I would very definitely recommend.

[Tyler McGaughey · Rating 5 out of 5]

ain't Bobby so cool

[Trisha Powers Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun collection of Bob Dylan memorabilia, stories, and song lyric explanations. I loved it and I loved the museum in Tulsa.

[Paul Frandano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've spent the last week drilling down into this beautifully mounted, rigorously informative, eye-candy-everywhere seven-pound book, which is sprinkled about with 30 exceedingly thoughtful essays, mostly from writers who knew Robert Zimmerman and Bob Dylan and were able to make useful sense of varying aspects of his life and remarkable career. If you consider yourself a true Dylanista, have lots of his recorded music, have been to his concerts, have read the biographies, have seen his four regrettable films, etc. etc. etc., you will need Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine in your Dylan library.

That's it. Either you're in or you're out. Your local library surely has at least one and probably two or three additions. Borrow one and see. (For what it's worth, the release price of the book was $100. Large chain bookstores are still asking that price. Amazon had it listed in the $30 bracket. I picked up a still-wrapped copy for less, in perfect condition. I will cherish it to the end of my days.)

[Nicholas Sokić · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gargantuan undertaking is, aside from the songs, some of the best evidence for George Harrison's belief that Dylan has the best shot of living on in the collective culture hundreds of years from now.

There's so many little bits of new-to-me info and essays that match the insight of Dylan's lyrics courtesy of the book's contributors. My favourites are Amanda Petrusich on Tarantula, Joy Harjo on Tangled Up in Blue, Greg Tate on the relationship between Dylan and Hendrix and Richard Hell's meditation on You're a Big Girl Now.

Of course, my brain committed to memory every Toronto mention, like that Dylan wrote Chimes of Freedom there on a Waldorf Astoria stationary.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a big fan of Bob Dylan, then you simply need to read this book.
If you think that over the past 40 years, Dylan has been hiding, well then you are out of touch.
Dylan has been touring almost non-stop since 1985. He was forced to take a brief break during the pandemic.
Dylan says that "I never listen to my albums. Those are logged. What I do is live performance, which is for me to rethink my songs in fresh ways". Bob Dylan loves the stage. He loves the road.
Dylan has released 40 studio albums through the years, plus "bootleg" albums.
His archives housed in Tulsa, Oklahoma is where they launched the idea to produce a comprehensive account on his life and career. Here it is in 600 pages.
If there is a time period or a decade when you lost track of Dylan, then you can catch up here.
This book is "a kind of inside-out biography, one that lets the Archive drive Dylan's story".
It befits the artist who once said, "Art is the perpetual motion of illusion".
My only problem with the book is that they have scanned some of the documents, so that there they are on the page, but the text is far to small to read.
Here Dylan is a very serious music student, an avid reader, a world traveler who has never tired of learning more.
I advise that you read this book with your laptop open and with YouTube brought up so that you can play the new songs that you read about. There are some little known gems out there that may become your favorites.
This much decorated citizen and artist was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2016. Some were shocked by that, others were very impressed.
I think that Leonard Cohen's response was best: "That was like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain.

[Tom Anderson]

I really am obsessed with this man and I hope one day I can be more chill and casual about him but I can’t stop. I just think he’s neat!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic and fascinating treasure trove of His Bobness.

[Alex Hotovy]

Inflating my page count by reading a glorified picture book 🙏🫡

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a fascinating deep dive into the ephemera that Dylan seemingly collected all through his career. Obviously not for the casual fan, but terrific to look at and full of essays from contemporary artists and others who have populated his world.

[Mike Fendrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A birthday gift from my daughters, they are the best!! Great book, so full of pictures and information that is probably in print somewhere but this brings it all together. A hefty price but worth it.

[Dave Moyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Near perfect. This companion piece to the Tulsa museum portrays many of the stories that Dylan junkies are familiar with, but with a unique perspective in totality that cannot be found in other sources. In addition, there are some interesting additions to familiar anecdotes as well as some new revelations (at least to me) that made this a fascinating experience. One that I savored and did not rush. With that said, it is quite expensive.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge Bob Dylan fan and this book is honestly a treasure trove of Dylan. As the first official release from the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, in terms of photos, manuscripts, and items from the massive Bob Dylan archive held there, it doesn’t disappoint.

However, the writing is uneven at best. The authors give the most rosy view of everything Dylan has ever touched even suggesting that things like the four hour mess of a film, Renaldo and Clara, is getting positive critical attention now. Ignoring the thorny parts of Dylan’s life and work as an artist does a disservice to the general reader.

I do suppose that if you picked up this book you would have some sense that the late eighties (from 1985’s Empire Burlesque up until just before 1989’s Oh Mercy) was a generally fallow period in his career. Not suggesting nothing good came out of that period, but reading this book you might think Down in the Groove was actually a pretty good album.

There are some good pieces of writing here in the short responses that others contributed to the book. Sean Wilentz’s intro is good, Clinton Heylin’s tribute to Paul Williams is touching, the piece on Dylan and Hendrix was insightful, and Douglas Brinkley’s epilogue was a perfect closing reflection.

With that said, it was a real joy to pour over the pictures, the notes, drawings, and manuscripts of one of the greatest of American artists. In the end though this book just doesn’t feel like more than fan service, but I should have know this going in.

[Jerry Bunin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There must be some way out of here"
Said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line
Know what any of it is worth"

"No reason to get excited"
The thief, he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now
The hour is getting late"

Bob Dylan, All Along the Watchtower

I first saw Bob Dylan perform on either Dec. 3 or 4, 1965, at the Berkeley Community Theater with Steve Taylor, a longtime friend, and saw Dylan again with my wife, Mary, Aug. 6, 1986, at the Mid-State County Fair, in Paso Robles. (Thank you, Mary, for putting up with my dozens of interruptions to share fun facts from this book.)

Before, in between, and since those two concerts, I’ve read books by and about him and never stopped listening to him or buying many of his albums, but last year’s movie, “A Complete Unknown,” made me dive deeper into his music, life and legacy.

I bought the book the movie was based on, reread some books about him and sought a newer, more comprehensive biography that included what has been called “The Never-Ending Tour,” which started in 1988 and continues. Dylan obviously enjoys making live music. “A lot of people don’t like the road, but it is as natural to me as breathing.”

During my search for the right book, I stumbled on a 2023 book published by the Bob Dylan Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine,” written and edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, isn’t a traditional biography since it says nothing about his personal life, but it is a fabulous musical history told with rare photos, insightful essays, letters and notes that he or his friends wrote, drafts of songs, posters, and assorted paraphernalia from a career that began 66 years ago and continues.

With the January 2022 release of his latest album of new material, Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan became the first and only musical artist to have albums chart on Billboard in six consecutive decades.

In 2012, when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Barrack Obama said: “There is not a bigger giant in the history of American Music.” In 2016, he became and remains the only songwriter to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Always a contrarian, in his Nobel Lecture (a requirement for receiving the award), he said: “Our songs are alive in the land of the living. They are meant to be sung, not read.”

The book sites Kris Kristofferson to note Dylan, who is known mostly as a folk and blues singer and rock ‘n’ roller, had a huge impact on country music when he recorded the albums Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Hardin, and Nashville Skyline in Nashville, Tennessee. “The country scene was so conservative until he arrived. He brought a whole new audience. He changed the way people thought about it. Even the Grand Ole Opry was never the same.”

I remember Roseanne Cash say after Dylan was a guest on the Johnny Cash TV show and the two musical great sang Girl of the North Country, “The next day, I was the most popular 13-year-old girl in school.”

His impact was far and wide. The book includes a letter Huey Newton sent Dylan on Aug. 24, 1970, on official Black Panther stationary: “Your music has always meant a great deal to the Black Panther Party and to us personally.”

When Dylan met President Carter, Jimmy sang Dylan songs to Dylan.

Until I read this book, I had no idea of how many people Dylan toured and recorded with, including The Grateful Dead, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, John Prine, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, The Band, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, Stevie Wonder, and Joan Baez, of course.

Wonder said that Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind “will always be relevant to something going on in our world.” Sam Cooke was so astounded that a white kid from Hibbing, Minnesota, could write such an insightful and touching song about the African-American experience that he was moved to write the almost as stirring song, “A Change is Gonna Come.”

It is probably technically inaccurate to say I read this book. For a tool, I used a magnifying glass to decipher handwritten Dylan edits of song drafts and notes to friends. Every few paragraphs or pages, I would stop to listen to a Dylan song after reading something I had never previously known or thought about. A few times, I left the book to buy a Dylan album I suddenly knew I had to have.

For example, I bought the album Oh Mercy when I read it was produced by Daniel Lanois. He has also produced Joshua Tree by U2, Emmylou Harris’ The Wrecking Ball (the album I’ve listened to more than any other), and Dylan’s Time Out of Mind, a mid-career masterpiece that won the 1997 Grammy for Album of the Year. He has won 11 Grammys, an Academy Award, a special Pulitzer, the Polar Award and numerous others.

So if you are a Dylan fan or just interested in him, this was among the most enjoyable books I’ve read and I feel confident you will agree.

As Dylan noted, “Some people feel the rain. Some just get wet.”

[Orsayor · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lifelong fan of Bob Dylan, I was honored to review the digital advanced reader's copy of "BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP THE MEDICINE." It was like receiving a backstage pass to explore the inner sanctum of one of America's most iconic and enigmatic artists. After reading this treasure trove of a book, I can confidently say that it deserves a well-deserved 5-star rating.

"BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP THE MEDICINE" takes readers on a remarkable journey into the creative heart of Bob Dylan. The book unveils a treasure trove of over 6,000 original Dylan manuscripts, including draft lyrics, notebooks, and an array of intriguing ephemera. This collection, now housed at The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a cultural archive of immeasurable importance.

Edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, the book comprehensively explores Dylan's artistic evolution. Starting with his earliest home recordings in the mid-1950s and concluding with his most recent studio recording, "Rough and Rowdy Ways" (2020), the book offers an illuminating experience that fans and music enthusiasts will cherish.

This book is unique in that it offers rich visual content, with over 600 images gracing its pages, including some that have never been seen before. These images provide a tangible connection to the artist's inner world and serve as a testament to his artistic genius.

The book features an impressive lineup of contributors, including Sean Wilentz and Douglas Brinkley. Each contributor offers a unique perspective on Dylan's work, shedding new light on his creative process and the personal impact of his art.

"BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP THE MEDICINE" is a testament to the enduring legacy of a groundbreaking artist. It provides readers with an unprecedented glimpse into the mind of a musical genius, unveiling the mysteries of his creative process. This book is not only a celebration of Dylan's immense influence but also an acknowledgment of his profound impact on a global scale.

My review of BOB DYLAN: MIXING UP THE MEDICINE is filled with admiration and gratitude. It's a remarkable journey through the life and work of a legendary artist, offering unparalleled insight and access. Whether you're a die-hard Dylan fan or someone who appreciates the power of music and art to inspire and transform, this book is a must-read. It's a 5-star masterpiece that will undoubtedly stand the test of time, just like the artist it celebrates.

[Richard Block · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biblical Epic

This is the year of Dylan; the film is out and so is this astoundingly complete testament to his life. Like the film, it does not try to tell you why, exactly, just how Dylan is one of the most phenomenal talents of the last 60 something years.

Despite its length, it is piecemeal, devoting a few pages to each of his great and lesser works, and offers few in depth analyses of the merits of each subject. It does not weigh the greatness of his 1965-1966 period compared to, lets say, the 1969-1973 period, except to note one was great and the other not so great. It is wide but not deep. This could be a weakness if this was the intention of the authors or contributors, of which there are many. It is one damn thing after another, as Winston said of history.

You cannot read it in bed. It is enormous, heavy and unwieldy in the extreme. And yet it is fantastic. For all its obvious shortcomings, it is the one essential book on Dylan - it is the Dylan bible. There is nothing like it and there never will be anything like it. The pictures are fabulous, the scraps of writing are interesting. Most of all, I like it that all his friends call him Bobbie or Zimmie and that Dylan is his artistic persona. He is a driven person, not interested in anyone or anything other than what he's interested or can use. There is no attempt to describe his sexual exploits, his ruthlessness, his outright rudeness and hostility, his weird religious beliefs (other than he used these for 3 years and was slaughtered for doing so), etc. If you don't like him, stay away from this.

There is nothing for you here. But plainly, he is the most significant musical figure of my lifetime, dwarfing his initial contemporaries and all those who followed. Even with his by now, awful croak of a voice, he remains essential listening. He has won everything - not just Grammys, Oscars, etc but Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.

Like this huge volume, he contains multitudes.

[Matthew Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive and well-assembled chronologically-arranged collection of ephemera, memorabilia, and interpretive essays that traces the genius bard's history from childhood through the just-completed leg of his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. Despite the well-trod territory, it still manages to offer some new insights into his life and especially his songwriting craft. A few of the essays fall very flat (e.g. Tom Piazza's failed attempt to emulate Dylanesque surreal absurdism), and most are just ok, but I found others very interesting (e.g. Larry Sloman's and Lee Rinaldo's). I found it helpful to keep a magnifying glass nearby to enlarge the many photographs of song drafts and notes. In a few cases (such as the half-page photo of 45 draft pages of "Dignity"), even a magnifying glass can't help, but I suppose the point of the photo came across. Like most of the Dylan literature, there is a disappointing (but expected and understandable) lack of equivalent detail about the most recent 3 quarters of his career (1976-2023) compared to the first quarter of his career (1961-1976). As mentioned in a previous review I posted, I kept the Andy Gill's book "Stories behind the songs 1961-1969" at hand for the first part of this book, which made for a good set of complementary readings. In any case it makes for a nice reference and cofee table book for the general public to skim through, but also stands up strongly to a page-by-page read by Dylan obsessives.

[Paradise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about an archive as much as it is about Bob Dylan himself. The Bob Dylan Archive in
Tulsa Oklahoma – a vast monument to the quintessential American folk hero – provides the
backbone to this in-depth social history of a musician, song writer and poet.

Interwoven are extracts, quotes, hand-written notes, lyric sheets, sleeve art, and photos throughout
the life of Dylan. There is so much, that I found myself dipping in and out rather than reading
chronologically.

Mixing Up the Medicine is a wondrous mix of the factual from the archive, and the anecdotal from
friends, collaborators, and contemporaries. Learning how albums came together, how the songs
were written, and where his inspirations and influences came from, gave me a new insight into
Dylan’s creativity that was missed over the years.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough both to those who only know covers of his songs, and
those diehards who have followed Dylan from the early folk years. Even if you only know him
through collaborations such as The Travelling Wilburys, there is a wealth of facts and stories to
discover.

Fishel and Davidson have written a sumptuous book revealing nuances of the enigmatic Dylan not
hitherto revealed, in an open easy-going style, full of explanation.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some interesting and engaging material in here, some nice photos and the odd enjoyable essay-ette, but basically this is as coffee-table a book as you could get on Dylan, and for my taste its construction falls between two stools: it is presented in a grindingly chronological sequence, not the most imaginative approach; yet there is no overall unifying perspective or theme. Or two different stools: too little that's new to the hardcore fan, and too much info for those with a more casual interest.
I suppose it's unfair to criticise a thing for being what it is instead of what I would have liked better, but I've just found it a bit uninspiring, given the extreme familiarity of the main story points, although the material on the pre-New York and very early New York period was nice to see and read.
That said, I do hope to visit the BD Centre in Tulsa one day!

[Eren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concoction of wonderful imagery and an insightful, deep look into the life of the behemoth of a lyricist and musician. As a fan of Dylan and his work, there was yet plenty more to learn about the songwriter's story through this glimpse of the Dylan archive. Seeing the early drafts of what were to become his most legendary songs written on scraps of hotel stationeries was very a special sight to behold.

In addition, I vastly appreciated the various letters displayed in this book between Dylan and other artists, namely the ones written by George Harrison.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything, or perhaps more than any sane person wants or needs to know about Bob Dylan and the many layers of his professional life. I'm a little less than sane when it comes to Dylan, so I read a goodly bit of this 4 1/2 pound, 608 page tome - a door-stopper if there ever were one. Enough new info to keep me turning the pages, photos galore, and some perceptive essays covering Bob's life, times, and work. Listed at a hundred bucks, the price has gone down to $43 at Amazon.

It's really quite good.

[Louis Molyneux · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a treat. Inhaled this. Even at 600 pages it still felt like it was breezing through key parts of his career, could have been twice as long. The presentation is beautiful, the pictures alone are worth the price, the essays all insightful. If I have one gripe it's that a lot of info here will not be new to the kind of hardcore fan this book is aimed at and will probably be overwhelming to just a casual fan.


Please release the unabridged ratso Handy Dandy thesis.

[Ken Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into the work of an icon. It is a big atractive book, with short essays about aspects of Dylan's work, illustrated with many photographs and images of ephemera from the Bob Dylan Archive.
I sampled our local library copy to determine whether it was worth the rather steep expense. Perhaps so, because I should enjoy revisiting some of the anayses and essays whilst listening to the subject being discussed. Could be a fine way to while away some time.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collection of material from the Bob Dylan Center, in Tulsa -- photos, manuscripts, song lyrics from Dylan's original notebooks. All of it is presented in roughly chronological order, accented by essays about Dylan and his art. I have to admit I haven't yet delved into the essays, because the other material is so endlessly fascinating. Drop in anywhere, and come up for air a couple of hours later.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable. I cannot get over how many feelings and memories this book has evoked. Plus all the discoveries: flims I haven't seen, and tunes I regret to have missed over the last 3 decades. But the good news is that, with a bit of luck, there's still time. Finally here is yet another reason to get back to Tulsa to see the Dylan archive itself.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a massive amount of information in this book about Bob Dylan. There are essays, draft lyrics, notebooks, photographs and so much more. Honestly, I did not read and look at everything (over 600 pages and the book weighed over five pounds). What I did peruse was awesome. So many details of Dylan's creative processes. If I'm ever in Tulsa, I will definitely go to the Bob Dylan Center.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep forgetting this one's still on my currently reading shelf. What can one say? This book is an absolute treasure. Normally, I'd say it's for Dylan fans only, but really, this satisfies on a number of levels. Truthfully, a worthwhile starting point into the world of the American bard in a lot of ways. Worth the hefty price tag.

[Carly Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of photographs and memorabilia from the Bob Dylan archives in Oklahoma along with some essays by critics about his career. This focuses mainly on his professional career (although there are some high school photographs.