Synopses & Reviews
By the middle of the 1970s, Bob Dylan's position as the pre-eminent artist of his generation was assured. The 1975 album seemed to prove, finally, that an uncertain age had found its poet.
Review
"A compelling, focused examination of the latter half of the elusive singer-songwriter's life and career. For Dylan's many obsessive fans, who have been offered a wealth of analyses of this singular artist over the years, Bell delivers the goods. Chapters are heavy with engrossing and sometimes surprising details of Dylan's most potent works and cringe-worthy missteps during this time, all told in the Scottish journalist's sharp-sighted, biting style. Doggedly researched, full of insight and descriptions that wonderfully reveal aspects of this luminary of American music." Associated Press
Review
"By eschewing scurrilous gossip for a more scholarly consideration of Dylan's place in American culture, Bell has produced an essential addition to the huge body of critical analysis that already exists around this unique individual." The Guardian
Review
"Ambitious. Bell handles Dylan brilliantly." The Spectator
Review
"Unmissable." Mail On Sunday
Review
"Forget F. Scott Fitzgerald's dictum about there being no second acts in American lives.
Review
"As both devotee skeptic, Bell takes nothing about Dylan's life at face value. A thorough account of every step Dylan made toward his eventual comeback. Any Dylan fan looking for something with a bit more bite than the typical breathless celebrity hagiographies will appreciate ." Biographile
Review
"Award-winning Bell continues his thoughtful, insightful biography of the enigmatic Mr. Dylan. There is much here to savor. A must for Dylan fans." Booklist (starred review)
Review
"A fluid biography of a man and musician whose ongoing personal narrative is as intricate and unique as his epic songs." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
The second volume in Ian Bell's magisterial two-part biography of the ever-evolving and enigmatic Bob Dylan
Synopsis
Then Dylan faltered. His instincts, formerly unerring, deserted him. in the 1980s, what had once appeared unthinkable came to pass: the voice of a generation began to sound irrelevant, a tale told to grandchildren.
Yet in the autumn of 1997, something remarkable happened. Having failed to release a single new song in seven long years, Dylan put out the equivalent of two albums in a single package. In the concluding volume of his groundbreaking study, Ian Bell explores the unparalleled second act in a quintessentially American career. It is a tale of redemption, of an act of creative will against the odds, and of a writer who refused to fade away.
Time Out of Mind is the story of the latest, perhaps the last, of the many Bob Dylans.
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About the Author
Ian Bell is a past holder of the George Orwell Prize for Political Journalism and the award-winning author of Dreams of Exile, a biography of Robert Louis Stevenson. He is a columnist with the Herald and the Sunday Herald in Edinburgh.