Another Side of Bob Dylan: A Personal History on the Road and off the Tracks

by Victor Maymudes, Victor Maymudes

During the years they spent together, few people outside of Bob Dylan's immediate family were closer than Victor Maymudes, who was Dylan's tour manager, personal friend, and traveling companion from the 1960s through the late 1990s. Another Side of Bob Dylan recounts landmark events during that time, including Dylan's infamous motorcycle crash; his meeting the Beatles on their first U.S. tour; his marriage to Sara Lownds, as well as his romances with Joan Baez and others; and memorable concerts. The book also provides insights on Dylan's songwriting process. On January 26, 2001, after recording more than twenty-four hours of taped memories in preparation for writing this book, Victor Maymudes suffered an aneurysm and died. His son Jacob wrote the book, using the tapes to shape the story. The result is a vivid, first-hand account of Dylan as an artist, friend, and celebrity, as told by an engaging raconteur who cut his own swathe through the turbulent counterculture.

Audio CD

First published September 9, 2014

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book alternates between Jacob's and Victor's voices and narrations, it holds together pretty well and tells us two stories of two relationships: Jacob's with his father, Victor, and Victor's with Bob Dylan. Jacob's part is a bit more literary and carefully written, certainly heartfelt, and in the case of the final chapter, very poignant. Victor's part consists of transcripts of recorded tapes, so his portions are very conversational and anecdotal. The two voices and styles blend nicely to result in a highly readable account.

Few people knew Dylan as well or as long as Victor M, and so there are brilliant insights into Dylan's quirky character and insightful details about some key events in Dylan's career. I've read a lot of books about BD, but this little volume catapulted up into the top ten right away.

[Robin Strugats · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book is great then it falls off hard. More about Vicktor then about Bob