Who Is That Man?: In Search of the Real Bob Dylan

Who Is That Man? This book isn't going to tell you that, but, in large part, what this book attempts to do is show you that you can't reasonably hope to answer that question-- which is what makes Dylan so interesting. And that's okay by me.

What you will not get in this book: extensive personal autobiography. If that's what you're seeking in a bio of Dylan, look elsewhere. This is much more a examination of his music, his filmmaking ventures, his writing-- his cultural imprint. Trying to do all that an delve into Dylan's personal life too would have been, in my opinion, confusing and trying to do too much for one single book. The single-minded focus keeps things on track and allows for a coherent discussion of how Dylan, as a cultural show more icon, has evolved (constructed himself?) over time. A more narrow focus, in this case, is better.

Dalton isn't exclusively Dylan-minded though: he's very well-versed on what else is going on in the musical world at any given time he's writing about, to an impressive extent. At any time he's discussing Dylan's work, he can contextualize it perfectly with what else is going on at that time that relates to Dylan's work, and external sources and quotations abound. It's extremely well-researched. I thought the early Greenwich Village days were particularly well contextualized and fleshed out-- and this is important, given the weight that people would attach to this particular image of Dylan even to the present day.

No album, however commercially unsuccessful or dismissed by fans, gets passed over, Tarantula is not forgotten, and even Eat the Document receives critical analysis. Dalton really leaves no stone unturned as he charts Dylan's first picking up a guitar until his present touring days. This book is comprehensive, extensively researched (with a great bibliography and index), and well-contextualized. Definitely recommended. show less

Is there any genre of music that has inspired more overblown, pretentious and just plain silly writing than rock 'n' roll? And is there any figure in pop who has inspired more nonsensical musing than Bob Dylan? It's almost as if everyone who writes about him feels obliged to try to mimic the great man's penchant for obfuscation. Mr. Dalton certainly has a great deal to say about Bob Dylan. In fact, he has a lot to say about a lot of things, some of which are only tangentially relevant to a book about Bob Dylan. For instance, he very much wants you to know how many books he's read, how much music he's listened to and how many movies he's seen and the cultural references come hurtling at you at bargain basement prices. Why cite one show more book/song/film when you can cite a dozen? He frequently substitutes cultural laundry lists for more thoughtful analysis. He just as frequently manages to get things wrong and/or makes inferences that are simply astonishing in their presumption and audacity. I found myself scribbling in the margins more than once -"How could he know this?" The book is rife with bizarre statements like, "People make fun of Dylan's voice and imply he made it despite it, but to this day almost no one can cover his songs." Really? Really??
And what did I learn about the real Bob Dylan? Not much at all, I'm afraid. However, the book did make me want to listen to "John Wesley Harding" and "Blood on the Tracks" again and for that I suppose I'm just a little bit grateful. Otherwise, Mr. Dalton, "you just sorta wasted my precious time." show less

This is a highly readable, comprehensive portrait of Mr. Zimmerman. As a bonus, it's also a fascinating view of the folk/rock music culture in the U.S. from the late 50's on. Dalton is a smart researcher and does an amazing job of writing an honest biography of this elusive legend.

This is definitely a book for Dylan fans - and for the rest of you, here's a test. What do you think of this quote from the book? "...Dylan has been one of the great fabulators, both in his life and art. He forms his persona and creates the characters in his songs around the outsider hero, intuitively conflating Robin Hood and Jesse James. To Dylan, all these types - hillbilly, outlaw, rebel, cowboy, outsider - were all really the same character..." If the show more quote makes you curious and ready to read more, you will love the author (a founding editor of Rolling Stone) and his writing style.

The advance reader copy didn't have all the photos in place so I'll be seeking out the final published version of the book to find out what photos they've included. It appears that there are full-page B&W photos to introduce each chapter which is a great touch. show less

The hook behind this book is the way Bob Dylan has altered his persona through the years. All Dylan biographies have to tread this ground at least a bit -- as Dylan really has been a protean personality. As with the Dylan biography itself, it's probably most interesting when it deals with the 60s, and the coverage of the Jesus years is a bit muddy, as is the discussion of the 90s, and the author doesn't really have a handle on what Bob is doing with himself these days; I felt he didn't really want to take a good look at the modern Dylan, who has settled on some, not greatest hits, but wandering crowd-pleasing performer lately. I very much enjoyed the coverage of the Nashville Skyline/Self Portrait/New Morning years, as this Dylan is show more particularly opaque to me. show less

I enjoy memoirs and biographies occasionally, but never read anything on Dylan, so I selected this book from Early Reviewers on a whim (and because I loved the cover). My friend of many years claims to be his #1 fan and I have listened to her accolades of him forever, and I thought if I won this book, I could read it and pass it on to her.

Upon receiving it, I was astounded by the amount of books written on Dylan that were listed in the bibliography, and my first thought was “How can anything more possibly be said about the man?” After finishing it, because I never read anything prior, I’m not sure anything new was said about him, but I do know I am now a bit more hip to the hipster.

In the beginning I almost felt as though I show more should have taken a prerequisite course on Dylan because I didn’t have a clue about most of the references the author was using (I never even heard of Tarantula or Eat the Document). Sure, I’ve listened to most of Dylan’s songs, listened to my friend’s die hard defenses of his antics over the years, even watched clips of a documentary on him, but I really never indulged in learning any Dylanology beyond that. So with that said, I’m not sure I’m the right person to write a review on a book about this man. I mean, I’m just in it for the story. But, here goes my opinion.

About half-way through the book I was getting frustrated with the many explanations of the myths; what the songs really mean, who they’re about, and there was too much space given to too many lyrics, and I started thinking, the title should be changed to “What Are The Meanings of This Man’s Songs?” I didn’t want to know what the songs meant; I wanted to know who the man was. I know you can’t write about one without the other, and maybe to die-hard Dylan fans, this would be exactly what they wanted to know, but as a novice Dylanite I was growing bored. And then somewhere beyond the middle, something seemed to change. I grew interested again (due to the writing or due to me??? I don't know) and was eager to continue the journey through Bob’s life. I'm glad I continued.

When I finished, I found it to be a great historical account of the music scene in the 60’s and 70’s, a complete chronological timeline of Dylan’s music, and an in depth look at the mystery of the man, but do I think it answered the question of the title? Come on, can anyone really do that? show less

Interesting book, but then I'm always interested in anything about Mr. Zimmerman. Of course, everyone has their own theories on what makes Bob Dylan tick, what his music means, and how significant his work has been. It was fun to read David Dalton's take on those issues, but I don't imagine he's any more reliable than any other interpreter. I suppose the best thing to do if you're really looking to find out about Dylan and his music is just to listen to the recordings (and maybe read the autobiography he published a few years back). But this book is definitely worth a look, too.

More of an essay than a biography on Dylan, David Dalton a journalist type takes a look at the chameleon nature throughout his years primarily from a perspective of his music. No question of the iconic nature of this man but his aura of mystery and elusiveness is the focus here. Dalton looks at Dylan's seeming evolution but in reality his outright change, again and again. And that chord is what bogs the book down some, the non-stop repetition of trying to define both the man and that changeability.

Biographies often bring out what their subject is going through in their personal life, their triumphs and challenges. This is limited in the book as we don't much on his personal relationships and such things. They are there but Dalton does show more not explore them in depth. On the other hand the writing flows well and is on balance an entertaining read. We are left with some ideas as to Dylan's motives and peccadilloes, but this troubadour of his generation remains the enigma he seems to want to project. show less