How Many Roads
A Life of Bob Dylan
Will be published approx. on 1. August 2026
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-1-83639-259-0 (ISBN)
Description
How Many Roads chronicles Bob Dylan's rise from apprenticeships in Minneapolis cafes and Greenwich Village folk clubs to international stardom as a breathtakingly original songwriter and singer. Scott Peeples follows Dylan through decades of radical shifts in his writing, recording and performing styles, from the intimate lo-fi Basement Tapes to the musical collage art and apocalyptic blues of the twenty-first century. Spanning Dylan's entire career, How Many Roads illuminates Dylan's deep respect for tradition alongside his artistic restlessness, a combination that extends into his prose writing, filmmaking and visual art. Weaving lucid analyses of Dylan's major albums and live performances into a briskly paced biographical narrative, Peeples offers newcomers and Dylan die-hards alike a fresh perspective on the most compelling and challenging popular performer of our time.
Reviews / Votes
"This is one of the best Dylan biographies I've read. Scott Peeples avoids pitfalls and overreaches in scaling the elusive peak of Mount Dylan - his book is neither hagiography nor hatchet job. This is a fair and balanced account, and Peeples should be commended for his impressive research, perceptive analysis, and well-paced road story about the unlikely odyssey of America's greatest living artist. Bob Dylan gathers no moss, and neither does How Many Roads." - Graley Herren, Professor of English at Xavier University, Cincinnati, and author of Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's 'Time Out of Mind'"The world of Dylan scholarship seems to have been designed to keep outsiders out - Dylanologists talking to other Dylanologists in their secret Dylan lingo. How Many Roads could not be more different. Peeples brings new energy and insights to this often-rehearsed story. You don't need to be a Dylan nerd to be welcomed here (though you might well be one by the time you leave). I enjoyed every moment of it." - Kevin Dettmar, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan and author of Punk in 50 Pieces: Punk Rock, Post-Punk, New Wave, and the Five Years that Changed Popular Music Forever
"How Many Roads was impossible to put down, the narrative's insights and perspectives flowed seamlessly. Scott Peeples's meticulous research is evident in the rich details, narratives, and reflections on the poet and musician Bob Dylan. This biography is as good as it gets." - Javon Jackson, Musician, Composer and Director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz Studies at the University of Hartford
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
26 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83639-259-0 (9781836392590)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Scott Peeples is Professor of English at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. His previous books include The Man of the Crowd: Edgar Allan Poe and the City (2020) and The Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe (2004).