Customer Reviews

Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan

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As a long-time fan of not only Bob Dylan, but also Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, I found this book second to none in telling their stories and the story of the folk song movement. The author's analyses and interpretations of Dylan's songs in particular are noteworthy, and the book as a whole is an invaluable tool for understanding how political folk songs affected (and ultimately failed to affect) American life. The writing is clear, at times eloquent, and always informative and entertaining. If you want to understand the history of the political folk song in America, this book is a must.

I didn't know much about folk music but picked this book up on a whim because I was intrigued by the cover. What a good find! Epstein carries readers through folk's history with tight writing, interesting anecdotes, and a sense that the politics of it all is embedded into American history. Even though I'm not a huge folk fan, I found myself reading with excitement. Try this book -- you might be surprised at what you discover.

As a huge folk music fan, I have been on a years-long search to find a comprehensive work that covers the whole folk story; that is, not just the music and characters, but the culture and circumstances from which they sprung. Lawrence Epstein's book is the first I've come across that explores folk music by showcasing not only how it started or where it is now, but also the direction in which it's heading -- and why. A truly enjoyable read for anyone interested in politics, culture, history, or any type of music.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It included a wealth of information on the background of Dylan's music, including many of the people who influenced him over the years. I didn't realize there was so much information about him I hadn't learned from any other source. Overall a really great, insightful book that I would highly recommend.

This book is great as both a pleasurable read and a reference work. A fantastic addition to any bookshelf.

I bought this book for my dad who is a big music fan. He's loving it.

A truly interesting, insightful and well written book that is a must read for music lovers, history buffs, or anyone looking for a good read. Also makes a great gift - I bought this book for my father-in-law who is a huge Bob Dylan fan and this is by far his favorite and most referenced book in his library.

Quick and fluid history of three folk music icons, Guthrie, Seeger and Dylan, running from the IWW to 1970, placing each artist in political, historical & musical context. The seemingly apolitical author, who probably teaches cultural studies somewhere, is not confused, or confusing, about totalitarianism, disdaining the disingenuous euphemisms that come naturally to The New York Times. Epstein even thinks Joe Hill was probably guilty. Politics is not his project. There's a bit of original research via interviews. The analysis of Dylan's migration from standard folk to a different people's music is especially insightful & persuasive.

Larry Epstein's book, Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan, immerses the reader in the development of the Folk Music movement from the perspective of the socio-political realm starting in the mid-1800's with the harmonizing Hutchinson Family and their songs' references to ending slavery and supporting women's rights.

Approaching and examining Folk Music from the perspective of the political, starting with the uniquely American Hutchinson Family and quickly concentrating on the towering contributions of Guthrie, Seeger (I will never refuse to sing to anyone) and Dylan, has never, to the best of my knowledge, been accomplished between the covers of any one book before; the author deserves credit for that fact alone.

But there are many other outstanding contributions in the book that the serious student of the history of music will encounter. Simply put, this book belongs on the shelves of readers interested in Folk Music and American Roots Music as well as the casual reader interested in American music in general. Librarians and Professors of Music and English will also find this book a welcome addition to their library.

And because Mr. Dylan takes Folk Music farther than any other practitioner of the Art, all fans of Dylan will find this interesting enough that it will be an essential part of their library as well -- not only because it reviews his early career, but because it includes a fair amount of insight into the man, as an artist, the man we all know as one fabulous poet.

And as Mr. Dylan (who perhaps can be thought of as poet and artist, first; song, dance man and folk artist, second) is more that just Political Folk Music, so too is this book more than just Political Folk music -- because Folk Music itself wasn't entirely about politics, as Epstein reminds us when he reviews the contributions of the Carter's and Jimmy Rodgers to the development of Folk Music as a genre.

It must be difficult to write a book that focuses, in part, on Mr. Dylan, whose career and life has had many tangents, without the book going on in as many tangents as well. Mr. Dylan is a man who simply must do what he wants and needs to do, as any accomplished artist must, and hence all those tangents; but the author, who is clearly a fan of Mr. Dylan, certainly covers the many salient issues related to Dylan in such a cohesive way that his book is highly readable; further, it may turn out to be a book that adds much to understanding Dylan not only as a poet as artist, but as a person with a remarkable inner life as well.

Dr. Epstein may have given short shrift to the Fiddle as an early instrument of Folk Music when he describes the Guitar and Banjo as the most important instruments for this genre of music but he does not give short shrift to the political influences on the early Folk artists. The political affiliations of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger are outlined and examined in depth, an examination that is well supported as he writes about the nature and development of the political folk music movement as a means of examining issues that led to the left leaning politics of both artists; certainly, one of this book's most significant strengths is the examination of the political roots of all three of the greatest practitioners of Folk Music from the historical perspective.

In summary, this is an extremely valuable book and is a must read. The only criticism I have pertains to the front cover: I would have chosen a fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar, in that order, rather than giving prominence to the electric guitar, as the illustration for the cover. Fiddles, banjos and guitars can play it loud as well.