Welcome to the website of the pioneer of Dylan Studies.
I wrote the first critical study of Bob Dylan's work, Song & Dance Man: The Art of Bob Dylan, over 40 years ago. It was published in 1972.
The massive third and final edition, Song & Dance Man III, was published at the very end of 1999. This was followed by the even larger The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia in 2006 and 2008.
I am a widely-booked public speaker at arts festivals & universities in Europe and North America.
I'm also the author of biographies of Frank Zappa (Mother!) and the great pre-war blues enigma Blind Willie McTell (Hand Me My Travelin' Shoes), and co-author of The Elvis Atlas: A Journey Through Elvis Presley's
America.
My books have been translated into Japanese, Italian and German.
Signed books:
If you'd like to buy a signed and/or inscribed copy of one or more of my books, these are currently available from the website Shop:
The updated paperback of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia (New York & London, 2008)
750,000 words, with entries on songs, albums, literary & musical influences, studio & on-stage musicians, Dylan's family & education background & much more
"A work of oceanic immersion. It has wit, opinion, style and asks to be read, not just consulted."- Village Voice, NYC
750,000 words, with entries on songs, albums, literary & musical influences, studio & on-stage musicians, Dylan's family & education background & much more
"A work of oceanic immersion. It has wit, opinion, style and asks to be read, not just consulted."- Village Voice, NYC
The audio-book Bob Dylan Encyclopedia Greatest Hits (North Yorkshire, 2011)
a digipak CD offering an hour of readings from the book selected and read by the author
excerpts & comments here on YouTube
a digipak CD offering an hour of readings from the book selected and read by the author
excerpts & comments here on YouTube
The UK paperback of
Hand My My Travelin' Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell
(Bloomsbury, London, 2008)
“A wonderful book about a spellbinding musician.”- The Guardian
"A superb meditation on a rare American figure." - Jonathan Lethem
" * * * * * Not just an authoritative portrait of the great bluesman, but also vivid history of the South" - Uncut
Hand My My Travelin' Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell
(Bloomsbury, London, 2008)
“A wonderful book about a spellbinding musician.”- The Guardian
"A superb meditation on a rare American figure." - Jonathan Lethem
" * * * * * Not just an authoritative portrait of the great bluesman, but also vivid history of the South" - Uncut
The first edition - the UK hardback - of
Hand My My Travelin' Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell
(Bloomsbury, London, 2007)
and
The original hardback edition of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia (New York & London, 2006)
PLUS
from time to time we also offer Bob Dylan Discussion Weekends in beautiful rural SouthWest France. Click the box below for details of any current or forthcoming Dylan weekends:
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