Michael Gray is a critic, writer, public speaker & broadcaster recognised as a world authority on the work of Bob Dylan, and as an expert on rock’n’roll history. He also has a special interest in pre-war blues, and in travel.
His latest book, in 3 volumes, is the 50th Anniversary re-publication of his classic pioneering study of Bob Dylan's work, Song & Dance Man: The Art of Bob Dylan. Instead of the 900+ page 1-volume whopper that has been out of print for over ten years, the new series is published by The FM Press (NYC). Volume 1: Language & Tradition, is out now either from http://amzn.to/43q3MHn or can be ordered from your favourite bookstore, ISBN 979-8-9-9882887-0-1.
Michael grew up near Liverpool, England, went to the Cavern, and graduated from the University of York with a BA in History & English in 1967, having interviewed (as a student journalist) the distinguished British historian A.J.P. Taylor and the distinguished American guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
His pioneering study Song & Dance Man: The Art of Bob Dylan, published in the UK in 1972, was the first full-length critical study of Dylan’s work. US and Japanese hardback editions, and a UK paperback, were published in 1973. A second, updated edition was published in 1981 in the UK and 1982 in North America.
The massive third edition Song & Dance Man III - including a 112-page study of Dylan’s use of the blues - was published in December 1999 in the UK and early in 2000 in the US. A seventh reprint was issued in 2008, and the book remained in print until late 2010.
A "Choose Your Own Adventure" type book, but feels like it's geared toward a slightly younger age range than the actual CYOA books. My daughter discovered my ancient copy a year or two ago. Some of the books in this series are too scary for her, but she loves this one.
Fun book! My personal story was interesting, I guess. I had gotten to page 60, where I decided to find out what the moaning was behind a locked door, cause you know, it could have been one of our MISSING FRIENDS! (Or something naughty... like... well, a prank involving pickled beets exploding all over white carpets.) Turns out, it was a spectre. Cool! Oh yeah, it touched me. Then I became a spectre too.
...I failed the quest.
Anyhoo, this Fantasy Forest book is really good. It's my favorite one so far.~ Shame that not many more people know about the series.