Who Is That Man? - by David Dalton (Paperback)

About the Book

"Drawing upon extensive interviews with Dylan's friends and fellow eyewitnesses--including Marianne Faithful, Steven Tyler and Allen Ginsberg--the founding editor of Rolling Stone presents a kaleidoscopic biography of the rock icon, providing a new perspective on the man, the myth and the musical legend."--Publishers description.

Book Synopsis

Now in paperback and with a new foreword, a kaleidoscopic look at the many faces of Bob Dylan, legendary folk singer-songwriter and winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.

For almost half a century, Bob Dylan has been a primary catalyst in rock's shifting sensibilities. Few American artists are as important, beloved, and endlessly examined, yet he remains something of an enigma. Who, we ask, is the "real" Bob Dylan? Is he Bobby Zimmerman, yearning to escape Hibbing, Minnesota, or the Woody Guthrie wannabe playing Greenwich Village haunts? Folk Messiah, Born-Again Bob, Late-Elvis Dylan, Jack Fate, or Living National Treasure? In Who Is That Man? David Dalton--cultural historian, journalist, screenwriter, and novelist--paints a revealing portrait of the rock icon, ingeniously exposing the three-card monte games he plays with his persona.

Guided by Dalton's cutting-edge insights and myth-debunking point of view, Who Is That Man? follows Dylan's imaginative life, integrating actual events with Dylan's words and those of the people who know him most intimately. Drawing upon Dylan's friends and fellow eyewitnesses--including Marianne Faithfull, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Stampfel, Larry "Ratso" Sloman, Eric Andersen, Nat Hentoff, Andrew Oldham, Nat Finkelstein, and others--this book will provide a new perspective on the man, the myth, and the musical era that forged them both.

Review Quotes

"[Dalton's] attempts at exposing, debunking, and celebrating the essence of Robert Zimmerman's Dylanness, and vice versa, make for an intriguing, often amusing, vision quest. Dylan's quirks, kinks, and inscrutability are fascinating fodder for endless interpretations. Dalton is entitled to his, and they're the opposite of dull."--Robin Finn, The New York Times Book Review

"Addictive reading... This approach would have crumbled in lesser hands, but Dalton does a stunningly good job."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"All David Dalton's books are wonderful, but Who Is That Man? is especially insightful, funny, and beautifully written."--Marianne Faithfull

"Dalton's crazy poetic prose first caught my eye in Rolling Stone back in the day. Have loved his writing ever since. Oh yeaah!"--Steven Tyler

"For all of the shelf-busting Dylan literature that's out there, it's rare that you find a book in which the music is discussed as adroitly as any aspect of the life... Dalton is a penetrating critic."--Colin Fleming, Washington Post

"Mr. Dalton, a founding editor of Rolling Stone, dates back so far in Dylan watching that he was all but present at the creation. He writes not just about Mr. Dylan but about what it's like to have lived in close psychic and musical proximity to him for so long."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"The first truly hip analysis of the ultimate hipster."--Lenny Kaye

"The mysteries of Bob Dylan captured in even-handed, never-boring fashion... This lively and literate attempt to read a half-century's worth of brain scans from a literal living legend strikes the right balance between admiration and skepticism."--Kirkus Reviews

"This is the best Dylan biography that I have ever read, and it kicks most of the others into a cocked hat."--Gonzo Daily

About the Author

David Dalton is a New York Times bestselling author, founding editor of Rolling Stone, recipient of the Columbia School of Journalism Award, and winner of the Ralph J. Gleason Best Rock Book of the Year award for Faithfull. He has written some twenty-odd books, including biographies of James Dean, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Sid Vicious, the Rolling Stones, and, in 2009, a critically acclaimed biography of Andy Warhol, Pop. Dalton is the coauthor (with Jonathan Cott) of Get Back, the only book ever commissioned by the Beatles. He lives in upstate New York with his family and an assortment of llamas, horses, sheep, and a pig named Tiny (hint, he isn't).