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Chronicles: Volume One (Hardcover)

by Bob Dylan (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 293 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd (4 Oct 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0743230760
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743230766
  • Product Dimensions: 22.5 x 14.4 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 117,186 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

AMAZON.CO.UK
As the first volume of Chronicles, Bob Dylan’s long-anticipated autobiography, finally appears, we are given a forcible reminder how it has never been easy to be a Dylan admirer. How could the fiercely anti-establishment composer of With God on Our Side embrace (in turn) orthodox Judaism, then fundamentalist Christianity – two religions absolutely antithetical to his celebration of the unfettered human spirit ? How could the demigod of folk (and disciple of Woody Guthrie) make his controversial move into electric rock? How could this man of the streets become the arch capitalist? If no answers to these questions are to be found within the pages of Chronicles, there is nevertheless a whole host of pleasures to be encountered: literary felicities, brilliantly etched pen portraits of musical personalities he has encountered, the biting wit one might expect – not to mention a thousand surprises (how could a man hardly noted for the beauty of his vocal tones be such an admirer of composers whose work he could never tackle, such as Harold Arlen, composer of Over the Rainbow?.

Those who have loved Dylan’s lyrics (and that’s a good chunk of the academic world these days) will find the same coruscating prose here: idea and image fused into brilliant (if often opaque) word pictures, as Dylan takes us back to his early days on the New York folk scene, before he became the face of rebellion in music. There are insights into his reluctance to conform to the image his fans have of him (hence his highly unlikely conversion to religious dogmas?), and this inaugural volume of his autobiography takes the reader up to the moment of his first real celebrity. It’s a fascinating and infuriating read, of a piece with Dylan the Enigma. And perhaps answers to those unanswered questions will appear in succeeding volumes. --Barry Forshaw

Observer, October 10, 2004
‘Takes its place next to On The Road . . . as an essential record of an American artist’s manifest destiny’

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Chronicles: Volume One
87% buy the item featured on this page:
Chronicles: Volume One 4.0 out of 5 stars (51)
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The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
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Customer Reviews

51 Reviews
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 (28)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (51 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great American voice, 17 Oct 2004
Like Steinbeck and Kerouac before him, you can hear America is his words. Those looking for insider gossip, showbiz revelations or a straghtforward narrative need to look elsewhere. The book starts with his arrival in New York City in 1961, beautifully evocative and kind hearted. Lovingly bringing to life those people around him, some more famous names than others, it has a unique sense of time and place. Amazing details show a true poetic licence in full flow. He describes the furniture in a friend's apartment in exhaustive detail; the place comes alive. He then writes that the apartment had "about 5 or 6 rooms". New York city, like the past, is another country. We then jump cut (nicely missing out his most famous period) to the late 60s and early 70s, living in seclusion in Woodstock, trying to raise a family while his generation come calling for their lost leader. His polite but solid rejection of the misguided, unworkable '60s ideals is nothing new - he said as much at the time. Maybe now people will finally get it. He belongs almost to a different time, a stranger world, that "old weird America". His fascination with Robert Johnson speaks volumes. His later work is beginning to capture this weirdness. The chapters concerning the writng and recording of "Oh Mercy" are revealing. They show that when he has the right producers, musicians, and motivations, he can make something great. The book is littered with fascinating asides - pen portraits of working musicians rather than pampered superstars, detours into the civil war, gods, generals and literature. There's a playfulness at work. Sly jokes appear here and there. He reveals that he wrote an album based on the short stories of Chekov, but doesn't tell you which one. Shaggy dog stories of old men on Southern porches, and trudging through swamps to get to Woody Guthrie's house. Everyone he writes about comes alive, positively. It's a great book from a great American voice. I expected nothing less
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dylan's Back Pages, 8 Oct 2004
By Mr. P. J. Jones (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
By my own admission I am not the speediest of readers, but I whistled through this book in no time.

It's as insightful as it is masterfully written. It takes you to smokey coffeshop Greenwich Village in the 60s. This book bursts with colourful description and great storytelling.

Even if you were not the biggest Dylan fan, you would still find this a spellbinding read.

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars roll on two and three, 28 Nov 2004
By S. Gee "stewgee" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I guess like everybody else here, I should declare an interest - I really like Bob Dylan and while sometimes I am a little disappointed by his musical outpourings, I don't regret a purchase and basically think pretty much all of it has something going for it. This is probably true for most of these reviewers...

When it came to Chronicles, I was worried - Dylan has the potential of course to tell a fantastic story, but also to make a terrible mess of telling the story. In this case I would have liked to rate the book with four and a half stars, because while it is without doubt the best book on Dylan I've read (and I've read a few), there are points where some editing would not have gone amiss.

I've gone with five stars because the first section, on Dylan's early hears in New York, is simply wonderful, as is the bit on the Woodstock years - I could read another five hundred pages on that lot quite happily. However, the middle section on the recording of Oh Mercy, is a bit on the long side, and I was not quite sure why it was included in such depth. Sure the stuff on Dylan's "new vocal technique", which would allow him to sing for hours with no fatigue, is weirdly fascinating, but also kind of aimless; a shorter section on this would have worked much better. We close up back in New York, with fame and success crowning the horizon, and of course, Bob doesn't let you down...

Dylan's writing style is his own of course, he's conversational and very definitely has his own voice, which you probably know very well indeed by now, and he has a few tricks up his sleeve, his favourite is a kind of cinematic flash-back which is a rather crude device, but executed with a touching naivety, and like most everything else in Chronicles, it fits.

If you have any interest in Dylan at all, you obviously want this book. Let's have two and three nice and quickly please Bob.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars The Answer My Friend....
First off, I'd just like to say that I am a huge fan of Dylan's songs and songwriting. He is a lyrical and musical genius in my humble opinion. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Ryan J. Fitch

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the autobiography
This book is to autobiography as Dylan's voice is to sweet melody. I found it a huge disappointment for it is singularly lacking in facts about his career. Read more
Published 11 months ago by G. J. Weeks

2.0 out of 5 stars For Dylan Fans only?
Like many people I am aware of (and appreciate some of) Dylans music, but wouldn't consider myself a fan. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Lendrick

5.0 out of 5 stars Only one person could have written this book
A scintillating, rambling trawl through various (apparently) unconnected episodes in Bob's wonderful life. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. G. P. D. Ingram

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for Volumes 2 and 3
Dylan has written a great book - a surprise and a delight. Insightful, entertaining, wistful, and charming. A treat!
Published 18 months ago by Jack Oliver

4.0 out of 5 stars Selected scenes from a life, not an autobiography (yet)
My copy of the paperback comes loaded with a long listing of all who chose this as their Book of the Year on release - while understanding their joy at Bob opening up on his life... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Siriam

4.0 out of 5 stars Strange Fruit
An autobiography like no other, The legendary word-smith from the north country proves within these pages that he can engage the reader as cleverly as he draws in the listener... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Arthur Dooley

3.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating glimpse into the mind of a genius
This is a different kind of autobiography, dealt in individual snapshots. The result is intriguing. Read more
Published on 12 April 2007 by Sam J. Ruddock

4.0 out of 5 stars An Autobiography That Gives Nothing Away
Eminently readable, richly textured with americana, old blues and an idiosyncratic use of Language Bob Dylan's first [and only? Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2007 by Kim Hatton

4.0 out of 5 stars Eccentric and human
You have to remember that this did not start as an autobiography - it started as a series of notes to some re-releases of his albums. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2007 by Mykool

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