This Land Is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the Journey of an American Folk Song

by Robert Santelli

"This Land Is Your Land" is the most iconic folk song in American history, and is the masterwork of one of America's greatest artists, Woody Guthrie. Written in 1940 and first recorded in 1944, the song became an instant hit, and then a point of controversy, and finally a cross-generation anthem. It's been co-opted and rewritten in many other countries. Praised for its heartfelt lyrics and accompanying pride and spirit, no folk song has made such a lasting impression on American culture—or stirred as much controversy. The book will publish to coincide with "Woody at 100"— a partnership between the Grammy Museum and the Guthrie Archives to stage numerous celebratory events throughout 2012 nationwide and beyond. This Land Is Your Land is a remarkably detailed account of the journey of America's most celebrated folk song. It also details Guthrie's legendary journey from Oklahoma across the Heartland to New York City, where he wrote many of his works including "This Land Is Your Land." With more than forty rare black-and-white photographs from the Woody Guthrie archives, a removable poster, plus original interviews with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Pete Seeger, John Mellencamp, and more, This Land Is Your Land delivers a revealing portrait of an American treasure.    

Genres: History, Music, Biography

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Robert Santelli (born January 31, 1952) is the executive director of the Grammy Museum and former CEO/artistic director of the Experience Music Project. He is the author of nearly a dozen books and a contributor to magazines such as Rolling Stone.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this advanced copy book in a Twitter competition in late 2011. Thanks to COVID19, I finally sat down and read it.

Recognizing I got an early copy, there were so many editorial errors of missed words or repeated phrases. The story was also about two chapters too long. But overall a nice overview of Woody and his life and creation of his best known song. My main takeaway was that I still need to read Joe Klein's biography on Woody after years of putting it off.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absorbing history of one of America's most well known songs.

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here for anyone who's read either the Klein or Cardy Guthrie bios. It's almost always a stretch to get a book out of a single song (David Margolies' book on Strange Fruit runs into similar problems). Santelli, who's a really good music writer and intimately familiar with the story (his efforts were a big reason the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's first Music Masters even focused on Guthrie), does a decent enough job bringing in all of the tangents that surround one of the greatest American songs--nice little bits on God Bless America (This Land was written in response to the patriotic standard); on Dylan and Springsteen and Pete Seeger. Ultimately, however, there's just not enough here. Wobbling back and forth between two and three stars; in deference to Santelli's career, I'll bump it up.

If you haven't read a Guthrie bio and don't want to invest in one of the long ones, this is a decent enough boil-down.

On another note, the box set of Guthrie's music Santelli put together, coming out in the near future (summer 2012) looks like a monster. There's some recently uncovered material from Woody's radio broadcasts and an absolutely first-rate overview of his career.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides a good overview of Woody Guthrie's life and legacy, with a special focus on This Land is Your Land.

I disagree with what a lot of other commenters say about the book being too long, the parts where it talks about Dylan and Springsteen are an essential part of the journey of This Land if Your Land. It showed how a song that was written in 1940 is still relevant and being used into the 21st century.
Considering this is a book about the song first, and a biography of Woody Guthrie second, it makes a lot of sense for it to continue the story after his death.

[Marty Acks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells an enjoyable story that weaves the story of American folk music with the influence of Woodie Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land. I would agree with one of the reviewers that mentioned it dragged on a bit after Woody's death. On the other hand, it certainly communicated the legacy the song carries forward until today. My earliest recollection of the song is the Peter, Paul, and Mary version.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading for all Americans.
I know some rock n’roll history, but knew very little about the history of American folk music. This book really opened my eyes to a whole new world of music. Woody was a different breed, with many faults ( like all of us), but his influence is huge. I’ll be reading more about him and the folk music scene. I can highly recommend this book!

[Cyndi Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book effectively intertwined the characters and Woody‘s life with the actual song This Land. The history adds so much to what he’s known for.

[Adam Tierney-Eliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started well. However, it became pretty hard near the end to maintain the narrative. In fact, it is probably about 1/3 too long. You can stop reading when it reaches Bob Dylan.