Book Review: 'Bob Dylan: Jewish Roots, American Soil' doesn't live up to book's promise

One of the most challenging things about any biography of Bob Dylan is piercing the reticence the legendary singer and songwriter has displayed in talking about his roots. In addition to that, biographers have had to to sift through the myths Dylan has built up about his life story.

That’s why it’s somewhat forgivable that “Bob Dylan: Jewish Roots, American Soil” by Harry Freedman doesn’t quite live up to its promise of tracing how the singer’s early career was influenced by his Jewish roots.

Freedman offers a serviceable introduction to Dylan’s early discography and his biography, including his childhood on the Iron Range of Minnesota. But the books offers little new illuminating information into how Dylan’s Jewish heritage may have influenced his career.

What’s frustrating are the times Freedman instead relies on speculation rather new insights. At one point, Freedman questions whether antisemitism played a role when a 1963 Newsweek profile that angered Dylan mentioned the singer’s family name, Zimmerman.

At the same time, Freedman is able to richly conceptualize the impact of Dylan’s music and the context of his rise. Freedman describes how Dylan’s early career came at a time for young people when “music was the only thing that made sense.”

With more solid evidence — or perhaps a less elusive subject — Freedman could have turned that prose into a book that lives up to its title.

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