Down the Highway

The Life of Bob Dylan

By: Howard Sounes

Narrated by: Peter Markinker

Hailed as "Music Book of the Year" by Uncut magazine on publication, and a finalist for theRalph J. Gleason Music Book Award, Down the Highway is an essential biography for Bob Dylan fans and all music enthusiasts, delivering the full, fascinating story of the life and work of this great artist.

Author Howard Sounes interviewed more than 250 key people in Dylan’s circle, and gained access to previously unseen documents, to create a fresh and compelling book that takes the reader on a journey from Dylan’s childhood in a Minnesota mining town, through his rise to fame in the 1960s, to his current status as the senior figure in popular music.

Howard Sounes is known for writing detailed and revelatory biographies of extraordinary personalities, including the American poet Charles Bukowski (Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life) and the singer-songwriters Paul McCartney (Fab) and Lou Reed (Notes from the Velvet Underground).

©2011 Howard Sounes (P)2014 Audible Studios

Critic reviews

"Dylan comes alive, strumming his guitar in a studio in Nashville or hurrying down MacDougal Street with the collar of his leather jacket turned up against the wind…[Sounes] offers information that, in sheer quantity, supersedes prior accounts." (The New York Times Book Review)

Good - but ends at 2009

Excellent biography- as far as it went. I was a bit disappointed Audible didn’t have the 2021 edition. Narrator wasn’t a good choice, but the content held me to the end.

thorough

this is a great book. maybe the most in depth of his life as any I've read so far!

A detailed and interesting story of Bob Dylan

I’m a fan of Dylan for over 50 years. His recordings have impacted music more than any artist other than the Beatles, who he was a major influence. Many things about Dylan are revealed for the first time. Insights into his music and his musician friends and fellow performers explain Dylan in a way that made me feel I was in the room with Dylan during his most creative times. Dylan’s quirkinesses and genius are all included in this most interesting book. I also like the narrator as the English accent made for a more objective viewpoint.

Terrific thorough biography

Had read it years ago and has been updated through 2012 or so. Thorough, well-researched and even-handed, it does a good job telling the remarkable story of Dylan's life. The reader is very good as well. Excellent book well told.

Very good book, but…

I have lost track of how many times a narrator has been dinged for mispronouncing names or places. This narrator is a good reader but so many mispronounced names… it did get a bit annoying but the book s very good