Bound for Glory

Woody Guthrie is a rare and remarkable storyteller, I already knew that from his songs. Now, my life is enriched by having read his wide-brimmed memoir. Thanks to Bob Dylan for the recommendation in his own autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One.

In Bound For Glory, published in 1943, Woody's words leap and tumble off the page with poetic immediacy, humor, and his hometown Oklahoma dialect of the times that grabbed hold and shook me, as he captivates with a casade of tales from his youth through the beginning of his fame as THE Woody Guthrie we all know: uplifting, rock solid folksinger of his day and influencer of generations to come.

Guthrie was raised during the depression and word paints and illustates portraits of this colorful and show more challenging slice of life through his telling of his family life and boyhood, which was full of love, adventure, angst, and tragedy. His beloved sister Clara died from a fire in childhood. After that jarring loss, his mother went though searing emotional anguish as a parent who survived the catastrophic death of her child. Her sad story does not end well. Eventually, young Woody, (who was often inducted against his wishes by his peers to rock and fist fight because he was strong and it was a sporting spectacle to see), set out from home early. He traveled like a hobo by train, got caught in the rain, spoke Oakie, not plain, and sang his way to fame.

The narrative packs in social commentary on race relations, injustice, friendship, labor and class struggles, and takes biting jabs at the pathetic political rouse in this country. I fell in love with this the portrayal of Guthrie as an innocent wee kid, a rascally boy, and hung on to his every word as the pages spin out his evocative evolution into a young man of conviction, intelligence, talent and integrity who is jostled by life and flooded with down-to-earth humanity.

He says, "... with a song, you sing it out, and it soaks that in people's ears and they all jump up and down and sing it with you, and then when you quit singing, it's gone, and you get a job singing it again. On top of that, you can sing out what you think. You can tell tall tales of all sorts to put your idea across to the other fellow." Well, he put his ideas across to me all right, and I will always remember my dad singing out his songs. Guthrie has sort of seeped into my soul. I recommend this book. show less

Startling, fresh, and also quite alien--something from a completely different era, particularly when compared with most memoirs written today. Guthrie lost a sister in a fire in which his family also lost all of their possessions, his father left home when he was twelve, he was raised by a brother after his mother was institutionalized for mental problems, and after all this, Guthrie still writes compassionately about them all. Part of the weird alien nature of this book is how family members disappear casually from Guthrie's life. All of these events are narrated as if family disappearing is a matter of course, and maybe it was, for people who had lost everything, even their will to love one another, and who needed to move to wherever show more they could find sustenance and shelter. I listened to the book as narrated by Arlo Guthrie, and this added to my experience--the words on the page were extremely difficult to parse for me, given the dialect it is written in, and I never would have made my way through it except by listening to the audiobook. show less

Woody Guthrie is an American legend. He was one great singer and one great songwriter, writing over 1000 songs, including This Land is Your Land, Tom Joad, Pastures of Plenty, Hard Traveling, So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh, Union Maid, Roll On Columbia, Blowing Down This Old Dusty Road, and This Train Is Bound for Glory. Many of his songs were sung and recorded by other singers such as Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, The Weavers, Peter Paul and Mary, Judy Collins, Odetta, and Jack Elliott. He was a great influence on singers and songwriters that followed him, not least of which is Bob Dylan. For many, he was the voice of America.

Guthrie had a hell of a childhood and a hell of a life which he describes honestly and colloquially show more in this wonderful book. It's an excellent, and I think important work of personal and American history. show less

In Bound for Glory Woody Guthrie, 'the father of American folk music', writes about the first thirty-odd years of his life. Born in 1912 he grew up in an Oklahoman oil town, a place of opportunity but also grinding poverty. He had a happy childhood despite the death of his sister and his mother's increasing mental ill-health. In his late teens he started to ride the box cars across American with hundreds of other men (he never mentions women using the trains) searching for work in one new place after another. This nomadic lifestyle, although sharpened by the Great Depression, suits Guthrie. When he has the chance to stay in a relative's grand house or try out for a show biz job, he jumps on the first train out of town to escape the show more shackles those opportunities would entail.

Despite Guthrie writing about his own life, this book is, at heart, a biography of the American working class and under-classes at a time of economic and social desperation. Its obvious that he had a great love for the people he met and travelled with. His sense of equality and justice, to be found in so much of his music, comes through clearly.

He also has a great way with words. There is a great passage in which he describes how, as a child, he watched bacteria through a microscope. He compares them to two men squaring up for a fight, in wonderful detail. show less

Entertaining semi-fictional autobiography about the song'n'dance man Woodie Guthrie. The stories have good humour and engaging language. Although some chapters don't really fit in the book, or are just outdated, some passages (particularly the New York skyscraper-to-street story in the penultimate chapter) are fantastic.

This is one of those books you almost don't want to review for fear of not being able to do it justice. I really have to say that this is now in my top 5 favourite books ever. It is strangely powerful and beautiful in a way only Guthrie could be expected to accomplish. The story is all at once heart-breaking, earthy and elegant. I genuinely cannot recommend it enough. I know it will not be long before I'm pouring over this one again!

A inspired life told by the author himself, and very well performed by his son, Arlo Guthrie, in the audiobook version.