Wanted Man: In Search of Bob Dylan

by John Bauldie

"Wanted Man: In Search of Bob Dylan" is packed with articles and interviews offering insight into the poet laureate of the sixties generation and a man Life magazine recently named among the 100 most important Americans of the twentieth century. This collection includes photos, many never before published, tracing Bob Dylan's entire career, plus interviews with people who have been closest to him-- such as Bonnie Beecher, the original "girl from the north country"-- and a number of major figures who have worked with Dylan and been influenced by him: Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Patti Smith, Ron Wood, and many others. The book spans Dylan's entire career, from his enrollment at the University of Minnesota in 1959 to his work with producer Daniel Lanois on "Oh Mercy," his most acclaimed album in years.

There have been many books written about this creative genius whose songs are the anthems of a generation-- especially during the fiftieth anniversary of his birth-- but only "Wanted Man: In Search of Bob Dylan" conveys the immediacy and humor which is so much a part of the experience of listening to his music.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

236 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 1990

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one -

A Bob Dylan fan is browsing in a record shop and on comes Bob over the speakers. The guy says to the sales assistant "Are you a Dylan fan too?". Sales assistant says "Huh? It's ten minutes to five, I always put that record on to clear out the shop before I close."

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Bauldie, the late editor of the late Dylan-centric magazine The Telegraph, and his contributors took their subject seriously while not taking him overly seriously, a respectful but irreverent posture that the Bard himself apparently appreciated. The articles and interviews in this best-of are minor but entertaining, with Ron Wood, Patti Smith and Eric Clapton surprisingly chatty. Overall we get, to quote a phrase, another side of Bob Dylan.

[Emily Coppella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A diverse collection of obscure interviews with people whose lives converged with Dylan = magical.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that reads like Alisdair Gray’s Poor Things in how it examines an individual only through the eyes of others. Highlights include Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton. As usual, there is a bizarre focus on Renaldo and Clara at the expense of Blood on the Tracks. Perhaps all these people are taking Dylan at his word when he says that album wasn’t personal at all, just based on a book of Chekhov short stories.

[Timothy Dries · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is really for die-hard Dylan obsessives. I am more of a causal Dylan fan, so some of the chapters were frankly not very interesting.

[Paul Gibboney]

Bob Dylan,Music

[Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad as a collection of articles and interviews but nothing too enlightening. I enjoyed the Patti Smith interview from 1977 as well as some of the 1980s pieces, less covered periods.