Chronicles, Vol. 1

Infobox Book
name = Chronicles, Vol. 1
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Hardcover jacket
author = Bob Dylan
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject = Bob Dylan
genre = Autobiography
Music
publisher = Simon & Schuster
release_date = October 5, 2004
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
pages = 304 pp (first edition, hardcover)
isbn = ISBN 0743228154 (first edition, hardcover)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Chronicles, Volume One" [ISBN 0-7432-2815-4] , is the first part of Bob Dylan's planned 3-volume memoir. Published on October 5, 2004 by Simon & Schuster, the 304 page volume covers selected points from Dylan's long career. The book spent 19 weeks on the "New York Times" best-seller list for hardcover nonfiction books. [Cite web
title = All you can eat - guardian.co.uk Arts
accessdate = 2008-04-01
url = http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1578506,00.html] "Chronicles, Volume One" was one of five finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award in the Biography/Autobiography category for the 2004 publishing year. The abridged audio version of the book is read by actor Sean Penn. The unabridged version is read by Nick Landrum.

Defying expectations,cite web | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/05/books/05masl.html?ex=1154664000&en=4ff016533525f29f&ei=5070 | title = So You Thought You Knew Dylan? Hah! | accessdate = 2008-09-07 | last = Maslin | first= Janet | date = 2004-10-05 | publisher = "The New York Times" | pages = 2 ] Dylan wrote three chapters about the year between his arrival in New York City in 1961 and recording his first album, focusing on the brief period before he was a household name, while virtually ignoring the mid-1960s when his fame was at its height. He also devoted chapters to two lesser-known albums, "New Morning" (1970) and "Oh Mercy" (1989), which contained insights into his collaborations with poet Archibald MacLeish and producer Daniel Lanois. In the "New Morning" chapter, Dylan expresses distaste for the "spokesman of a generation" label bestowed upon him, and evinces disgust with his more fanatical followers. At the end of the book, Dylan describes with great passion the moment when he listened to the Brecht/Weill song "Pirate Jenny", and the moment when he first heard Robert Johnson’s recordings. In these passages, Dylan suggested the process which ignited his own song writing.

In an interview conducted by Jonathan Lethem, published in "Rolling Stone" [Cite web
title = The Modern Times of Bob Dylan: A Legend Comes to Grips With His Iconic Status : RS 1008
accessdate = 2008-04-01
date = 2006-09-07
url = http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11216877/the_modern_times_of_bob_dylan_a_legend_comes_to_grips_with_his_iconic_status/print] , Dylan said he was very moved by the book's reception. "Most people who write about music, they have no idea what it feels like to play it. But with the book I wrote, I thought, ‘The people who are writing reviews of this book, man, they know what the hell they’re talking about.’ It spoils you … they know more about it than me. The reviews of this book, some of ’em almost made me cry—in a good way. I’d never felt that from a music critic "ever"."

In April 2008, Simon & Schuster disclosed that Dylan was expected to begin working on "Chronicles Vol. 2" while on a break from the Never Ending Tour during the following month. [ [http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/bob_dylan/news/11394 Uncut.co.uk - News ] ]

References