Bob Dylan: Voice of a Generation

by Jeremy Roberts

Born Bobby Zimmerman in the small town of Hibbing, Minnesota, Bob Dylan overcame many obstacles to become one of the most revered musicians of his time. Though he has written over 500 songs, he is best known for his folk-rock protest songs of the 1960s. He became known as the poet prophet and was a role model to many of that generation.

128 pages, Library Binding

First published May 30, 2005

About the author

Jeremy Roberts has written on a variety of subjects. His nonfiction work includes biographies of Mussolini and Joan of Arc for A&E Books.

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very basic but well written summary of Bob’s career, music, and life. Even some clarification of misinformation from previous biographies. Easy and enjoyable read for me, a big fan.

[Izayah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Dylan Voice of a Generation by Jeremy Roberts

Immediately when I saw this Bob Dylan biography I knew I had to get it and read it as soon as I could. Bob Dylan Voice of a Generation has got to be one of if not the best biographies I’ve ever read. Like a mystery or thriller book it hooked me in unlike any other biography I’ve ever read. It provided a very entertaining mix of his childhood and some of his latest songs and shows.
Voice of a Generation is about the uprise of Bobby Zimmerman’s (Bob Dylan) life from very beginning to end. Bob Dylan went through many small bands before switching his genre completely to folk music and going solo. Soon enough he had actual shows from local performances and then eventually became a very popular folk singer. Bob Dylan made so many great songs and became a legend but of course he grew old, although Bob Dylan still tours at 82 years old.
The only thing this book could improve on is mentioning his amazing songs like which ones mainly made him famous. That being said, I would give this book a nine and a half out of ten.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for anyone who is just getting into Bob Dylan. As a reborn Dylan fan, I appreciated the brevity of the book while also giving a ton of information about not only Dylan, but about different time periods and subject matters that were part of his life.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is good information on Dylan's life and career in this book, but I found the writing to be somewhat stale. I'm not sure that many teenagers today even want to know about Bob Dylan, but if they did, this biography would be a decent place to start. It paints a fair picture as Dylan as an extremely talented singer and songwriter who didn't always know how to handle the media when tired and overworked. It also provides a sense of the difficulty of maintaining healthy personal relationships for a person who is constantly on stage and in the public eye. The writing would have been more attractive if Roberts had summed up Dylan's songs less and presented some of his actual lyrics more.

[Alex Bednar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Bob Dylan by jeremy Roberts is a easy to read book with alot of good information, and since its about Bob Dylan it is very fun to read. I rated it 4 stars because it was great that kept me reading until the very end. The only reason i did not give it 5 stars is because it was a short book that could of been longer. Other than being a short book I have no complaints and i would definitely reccomend this book to anyone who likes to learn about music history or wants to learn about music history. this is a greaat book and I rate it 4 stars.

[Jaljes · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I was reading the book, I was also looking for the songs and playing them on different media. It was nice to have a guided introduction to the music of Bob Dylan, and I definitely enjoyed reading it with a background soundtrack. Being such a short book, there are many things and topics that are only narrowly touched upon, but overall, I would suggest this book as a great introduction to his life and work.

[Sarah Apgar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, easy-to-read overview of Bob Dylan's career. I really enjoyed the photographs, and the short blurbs in each chapter.