Bob Dylan FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Song and Dance Man

by Bruce Pollock

In October 2016, the Swedish Academy finally conceded to a quarter-century's worth of clamorous petitions and sustained lobbying enacted by a chorus of poets, novelists, songwriters, and academics. At long last, Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, his vast corpus spread out like Highway 61 behind him. How is a Dylan debutante to make sense of the song and dance man's six decade career? How might a diehard Dylan fanatic stumble upon something they didn't know they didn't know? Why, with award-winning journalist Bruce Pollock's Bob Dylan FAQ , of course!

Bob Dylan FAQ , the latest installment in Backbeat's FAQ series, condenses the life and times of America's premier songster into an addictively vivacious 400-page brick jam-packed with critical analysis, minutiae, photographs, ephemera, and period history. Every aspect of Dylan's life and career, from his ever-expanding discography, touring history, fallow periods, literary and visual artistic efforts, peers, influences, and legacy to his devoted fanbase is explored. Best of all, the book's structure invites perusing at any random point, as each chapter serves as a freestanding article on its subject. Dive into Dylanana with Bob Dylan FAQ !

Genres: Music

400 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2017

Reviews

[M. Sarki · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, this new book covering the career of Bob Dylan offers little new. But for the obsessed and interested fan it is still fun to revisit the greatest song and dance man to ever hit the stage. Unfortunately, there is a large segment of the book devoted to Dylan’s transgressions, which reportedly were many. Readers are bombarded and reminded almost constantly how prolific Dylan was at being unfaithful to his love partners. Unsure of how this behavior translates into the history of his art, but it does seem to be important to many Dylan biographers. As I neared the end of what I hope will be my last Dylan bio, there was a bit feeling of satisfaction knowing more than I should about the man. And still he remains an enigma.

[Mark Spence · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh...