Toby Thompson

The first real book about Bob Dylan is still one of the best. In 1968, Toby Thompson made at trip to Hibbing to see who he could talk to. He ended up meeting an uncle of Bob's, Bob's babysitter, Bob's brother, Bob's mother, and most entertainingly, Bob's high school girlfriend, Echo Helstrom.

One of the striking things to realize is how little time had elapsed in Dylan's career at this time, but how much he had accomplished. The book takes place only around 10 years after Bob graduated from show more high school, yet he's already released many works of genius and remade rock and to a lesser extent poetry.

Thompson writes very engagingly, though a couple times his style wears on you, and in many ways, it sets the tone for books to follow, with their mixture of the analytical and the gushing fanboy. Thompson is aware, as are many other Dylan writers, of the problems with the approach, but if sometimes he crosses the line here, it's well worth it for the portrait of Hibbing so long ago (now) and these people. show less