Bob Dylan: Intimate Insights from Friends and Fellow Musicians
An essential purchase for all Dylan fans ...  Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --The Library JournalBob Dylan is an icon of American popular music whose work and performances have influenced and inspired folk musicians and rock stars ranging from Pete Seeger to Bruce Springsteen. "Bob Dylan: Intimate Insights From Friends And Fellow Musicians" by biographer Kathleen MacKay provides Dylan's legions of fans with an intimate portrait of the man and his music in a published 'oral history' drawn from extensive interviews with his friends and associates. Superbly organized, here are the memories and reminiances regarding Dylan as related by such luminaries as Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny rivers, and dozens more. No one who has ever thrilled to a Dylan song or who were fortunately enough to catch him in a live performance will want to miss reading this outstanding biography which is enhanced with the inclusion of fourteen black-and-white photographs, source notes, an extended bibliography, and a listing of websites for musicians. --Midwest Book ReviewReading Kathleen Mackay's thrilling "Bob Dylan: Intimate Insights From Friends and Fellow Musicians" is like listening in on lively conversations that conjure not only the musical legend but also an America that doesn't exist anymore.   Does she shatter the Dylan mystique? Hardly, but at least we're in the room. Mackay wisely taps the realm that Dylan most respects: his musician touchstones.   Is she merely nostalgic? Nope.   This must-have effort moves the public record forward using new interviews and, thankfully, isn't prone to psychobabble. It's human, filling gaps in the story of the elusive icon that celebrated his 66th birthday last month.   And it feels real.   Told through the words of Noel "Paul" Stookey, Liam Clancy, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bobby Vee, Maria Muldaur, Johnny Rivers, Kris Kristofferson, Ronnie Hawkins, Rosanne Cash, Bono and the Beatles, the book aims to flesh out Dylan's 2004 book "Chronicles: Volume One." --Hector Saldaña, San Antonio Express-News