Across the Great Divide: The Band and America (Book)
by Barney Hoskyns, The Band
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Book Summary Information
Author: Barney Hoskyns, The BandEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-01
ISBN: 142341442X
Number of pages: 468
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781423414421
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Book Reviews of Across the Great Divide: The Band and America (Book)
Book Review: Third-rate Hack-job
Summary: 1 Stars
Unfortunately, this book is a third-rate hack-job, filled with misquotes, wrong information, speculation presented as fact and lots of plain old-fashioned bad writing. The Band deserve much better than this, and hopefully someday someone will write a much better book about them.
Levon Helm's "This Wheel's On Fire" is an infinitely better read, showing Helm's deep South musical upbringing, Levon and Ronnie Hawkins' being inspired as kids by Sonny Boy Williamson and the King Biscuit Flour Time, through their many wild nights on the road as The Hawks, through hitting the big time and working with Dylan, playing at Woodstock, The Last Waltz, etc....
"This Wheel", of course, presents a subjective view. Helm and Robertson, for example, have become completely estranged and Helm's book shows only his side. I was hoping that Hoskyns' book would be a sober balance to "This Wheel,' but I was sorely disappointed. It is so poorly written as to be almost unreadable, and Hoskyns doesn't seem to use a fact-checker or proofreader. He does, however, steal several lengthy quotes from Helm's book without attribution, as well as quoting Greil Marcus repeatedly--while also belittling him. Weird. A 'rare interview' with Robertson, presented as an appendix, is little more than a chance for him to plug a new 5 cd Band compilation. Yawn.
If you're interested in The Band, I recommend reading Helm's vastly superior book, and leaving this disappointing, half-assed attempt alone. Sure, Levon's book is not objective--but it is a great read and paints a vivid, finely detailed portrait of life in The Band.
For the record, I read Hoskyns' "Hotel California" and thought it was pretty good. Not particularly well-written, but passable and provided lots of presumably good information on the whole Laurel Canyon scene.
"Across the Great Divide" just sucked.
Summary of Across the Great Divide: The Band and America (Book)
This is a vivid and rollicking account of The Band's journey across three decades. Spanning the history of American rock and boasting a supporting cast that includes Dylan, Janis Joplin, and U2, the book brilliantly captures the raw magic and complex personalities of a group George Harrison called "the best band in the history of the universe." This revised U.S. edition includes a postscript, together with an obituary of Rick Danko and a brand-new interview with Robbie Robertson.General Books
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