Miracle and Wonder (Special Edition)

Conversations with Paul Simon

By: Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam

Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, Paul Simon

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A musical biography unlike any you’ve ever heard: Paul Simon in conversation with Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam, discussing Simon’s greatest hits, artistic struggles, and what it means to move people through music, now with a new epilogue that finds Paul in Texas continuing to wrestle songs from the universe including for his latest album Seven Psalms.

What happens when Paul Simon, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in music history, and Malcolm Gladwell, the bestselling author and podcast host, sit down together, with a tape recorder and a guitar?

Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon is part memoir, part investigation, and unlike any creative portrait you’ve ever heard before. Recorded over a series of 30 hours of conversation between Simon, Gladwell, and Gladwell’s oldest friend and co-writer, journalist and Broken Record podcast co-host Bruce Headlam, the conversation flows from Simon’s music, to his childhood in Queens, NY, to his frequent collaborators including Art Garfunkel and the nature of creativity itself. Gladwell and Headlam traveled from the mountains of Hawaii to Simon’s own backyard studio to record an artist they’ve idolized since childhood.

Woven throughout the audiobook is distinctive commentary about Simon’s songwriting alongside archival audio footage and never-before-heard live studio versions and original recordings of beloved hits including “The Boxer,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “Graceland”. Between conversations, Gladwell deploys his signature blend of historical research and social science in an attempt to understand how a boy from 1940’s Queens conjured near-perfect songs over an incredible 65-year career. Along the way he gathers reflections on Simon’s particular genius from the likes of Sting, Herbie Hancock, Renee Fleming, Jeff Tweedy, Aaron Lindsey, and Roseanne Cash.

The result is an intimate audio biography of one of America’s most popular songwriters. Brimming with music, and conversation, Miracle and Wonder is a window into Simon’s legendary career, what it means to be alive as an artist, and how to create work that endures.

©2023 Pushkin Industries and Paul Simon (P)2023 Pushkin Industries and Paul Simon

A joy for musicians and creators

I enjoyed these conversations tremendously, I got to know the musician and his creative process, he tells it very simply and then Malcolm Gladwell knows how to steer him deeper and deeper into his thinking process, into the meaning and larger significance of this artist’s impressive body of work which has marked generations of listeners. Thank you!

Fantastic audio book

Fell in love with Paul Simon's music all over again. Interviews are thoughtful and well paced.

Great interview

I love the honesty of Paul Simon. Learned a lot of interesting things about Paul. Malcomb is a great interviewer. Thanks!

Fantastic!

Everything I hoped it would be. If Paul Simon weren’t already my favourite songwriter, this book would have put him there. Loved all of the cold clips and the clips of him playing during interviews. Malcolm Gladwell did a fantastic job of weaving it together.

Inspiring

Loved hearing about the creative process. He tries to explain the unexplainable. .where do the ideas come from.

Outstanding!

The entire piece was a joy to listen to!
Like Solieri enabling us to better understand Motzart’s genius in “Amadeus,” Malcolm Gladwell helps us better understand Paul Simon’s genius - and make the process irresistible!

You won’t want to stop listening to this!! 👏🏻👏🏻

Pretty darn good!

Fun to hear the machinations of the artist. A long career nicely reviewed with Malcolm.

A must for Paul Simon fans

Paul Simon’s music has been a thread through my life. These conversations make sense of why his melodies and lyrics have found permanent real estate in my heart. Thank you for sharing this!

Over The Top Fabulous

You add Paul Simon with Malcolm Gladwell.....shake and stir and you'll have a winner every time. What a combination of asking and answering mixed in every minute or so with a clip of Paul Simon music. Loved every minute of it and am sad I reached the end.

Fantastic interviewer

This is probably the best interview I’ve ever heard. So sensitive, informed, patient in waiting for Paul’s response, and allowing him to follow a tangent he embarks on…. I LOVED it. Learned so much about Paul Simon, came home every day sharing some new insight into the singer/songwriter and his music. It’s the first Audible thing I’ve wanted to listen to a second time. Really wonderful.