Chronicles: Volume One

The world has Woody Guthrie and Robert Johnson to thank for Bob Dylan, to judge from the singer's frank and entertaining autobiography. The account slips back and forth in time effectively, starting out in New York in 1961, scrolling back to Minnesota, flashing forward to miserable years in Woodstock and a middle section devoted entirely to the recording of a single album in the 1980s, and wrapping up with a return to the early 1960s with the singer on the cusp of fame. Dylan never lets the reader get too close. He's all business when it comes to music, soaking up influences and techniques like a sponge. His personal life is treated at a remove. To hear him tell it, all he wanted to do was take care of his family; the "voice of a generation" stuff never made sense to him. His favorite politician was Barry Goldwater because he reminded him of Tom Mix. An odd man with a plan.