Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan

Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan
by Howard Sounes

Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan
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Book Summary Information

Author: Howard Sounes
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04-12
ISBN: 0802138918
Number of pages: 544
Publisher: Grove Press

Book Reviews of Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan

Book Review: An Absorbing Life
Summary: 5 Stars


The author has been able to interview an enormous number of people who were previously reluctant to speak with anyone about Dylan's life. The result is that, at least for the beginning and middle period of Dylan's life, there is an enormous amount of absorbing material. The book was famous for revealing a publicly unknown Dylan marriage and child.

The writing is generally sound, though I miss the kind of playful and insightful language a subject like Dylan deserves.

The book does not contain Dylan lyrics. Presumably, Mr. Sounes decided to bypass those in order to spring his revelations without seeking permission from Dylan's management. This prevents the kind of depth analysis that a biography ought to include, especially someone as artistically gifted as Dylan.

The result of all this is an intriguing book, well worth reading for its biographical insights but in need of a supplementary work to examine Dylan's artistry as it weaved through the facts of his life.

--Lawrence J. Epstein, author of Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan

Summary of Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan

Based on three years of research, new documentary evidence, and interviews with 250 of Dylan's intimates -- many exclusive -- Down the Highway has gone beyond the scope of other accounts to become the most complete, authoritative biography of Bob Dylan now in print. It was praised by The Orlando Sentinel "for the insights it offers to Dylan at work ... from young upstart to grand old man of rock 'n' roll." Sounes's prodigious research has resulted in new insights on every aspect of Dylan's life. His is the only biography to seriously address the past twenty years of Dylan's life, leading up to the extraordinary recent releases Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft. He has obtained exclusive information to provide the clearest picture yet of Dylan's 1966 motorcycle accident and subsequent "lost years" in Woodstock, New York, and he uncovered the star's unknown second marriage. He gives inside accounts of the tours, the creation of every album and the most celebrated songs, Dylan's labyrinthine love life, his life-threatening heart illness in 1997, and more -- directly from interviews with girlfriends, family, friends, producers, concert promoters, and fellow musicians. Candid, refreshing, and written with a sincere appreciation of Dylan's music and influence, Down the Highway is an essential book for the millions of people who have enjoyed Dylan's music over the years. "Dylan comes alive.... Sounes has added a wealth of new information to Dylan studies." -- Perry Meisel, The New York Times Book Review "Fascinating and finely written." -- Ronald Radosh, The New Republic "Convincing ... [generates] sympathy for an isolated artist." -- Daniel Cooper, The Washington Post Book World "Sounes ... opens new angles on the enigmatic polyhedron that is Dylan.... Monumental." -- Gene Santoro, The Nation " "A portrait of Mr. Dylan that is often unflattering, sometimes puzzling, but, to the author's credit, never sensational." -- Al Brumley, The Dallas Morning News "Engrossing ... fast-moving yet rich in detail ... [Down the Highway] chronicles a remarkable and contradictory artist." -- Carlo Wolff, The Kansas City Star "[This] fast-paced book has a fine interest in details [and is] rich with the observations of new witnesses." -- Sheri Linden, Variety "Irresistible ... What Dylanphile wouldn't want to sift through what Sounes has dug up." -- Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

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