Bob Dylan

Jewish Roots, American Soil

Harry Freedman

$42.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Bloomsbury Continuum
22 May 2025

Music reviews & criticism; Folk & traditional music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Biography: arts & entertainment; Judaism

From the day that Bobby Zimmerman first turned on the radio in his parents’ home in Hibbing, he’d had a pretty good idea that big things were happening, that old values were changing, that something new was on the way.

Bob Dylan arrived in New York one winter morning in 1961. His music and spirit would go on to capture the hearts and minds of a generation, but what no one knew then was that, like so many before him, Dylan was concealing his Jewish origins.

For Harry Freedman, Dylan’s roots are the key to grasping how this complete unknown burst onto the scene and reinvented not only himself, but popular music. The instinct for escape and reinvention has defined Dylan’s long career.

In this insightful biography Freedman traces the heady atmosphere of the 1960s and the folk-rock revolution spearheaded by Dylan. Right up until the moment in 1966 when Dylan stepped out onto the stage and went electric – exploring how his musical decisions, genius for reinvention and his Jewishness go inescapably hand in hand.

By: Harry Freedman
Imprint: Bloomsbury Continuum
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 460g
ISBN: 9781399416306
ISBN 10: 1399416308
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 22 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Harry Freedman is Britain’s leading author of popular works of Jewish culture and history. His books include Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius, Shylock's Venice: The Remarkable History of Venice's Jews and the Ghetto, The Talmud: A Biography, Britain's Jews: Confidence, Maturity, Anxiety and Kabbalah: Secrecy, Scandal and the Soul.

Reviews for Bob Dylan: Jewish Roots, American Soil

[Harry Freedman] scrupulously dissects the historical and cultural influences that shaped Bob Dylan’s music career. A meticulous exploration of one of America’s most influential musicians. * Publishers Weekly *