Books about Specific Periods of Dylan's Career and Life

Positively Fourth Street - The Life and Times of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mimi Farina Baez, and Richard Farina by David Hajdu

A detailed look at Dylan in the early to mid sixties. The book is actually about the relationships between Joan, Bob, Mimi and Richard and how these four individuals influenced the music of the sixties.  Hajdu seems to be on a mission in this book to paint Richard Farina as a major influence on Dylan and the entire 60s music scene and is not completely convincing about it.  (He attempts to make a case for Farina being the originator of "folk-rock" and pushing Dylan to follow.)  Nevertheless this book is impressive in its portrayal of four young folk who were talented and knew it and certainly (in Joan and Bob's cases at least) did shape the 60s folk music revival and the future of American popular music.

like the Night: Bob Dylan and the road to the Manchester Free Trade Hall by C.P. Lee

An engaging history (by someone who was there) of Dylan's famous 1966 concert at the Manchester Free Trade Hall.  The concert itself was released in 1998 as "The Bootleg Series Volume 4: Live 1966".  A very nice companion read to that box set.

Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes by Greil Marcus

A bizarre but entertaining book about a famous set of recordings made by Bob Dylan with his band in 1967 and their possible relation to Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Folk Music".  Also published as "The Weird Old America: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes.

Rolling Thunder Logbook by Sam Shepard

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author's literary snap shot of Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour.  Shepard was hired to write a screenplay for "Renaldo and Clara" but that never happened.  Instead he got to sit back and watch the festivities and this is his record of the experience.

On the Road With Bob Dylan by Larry "Ratso" Slomann

A journalist's intimate view of the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour.  Some performances from the tour are featured on the CD "The Bootleg Series Volume 5: Live 1975 The Rolling Thunder Revue".  Much more straightforward (and coherant) than Shepard's book above.

Razor's Edge: Bob Dylan and the Never Ending Tour by Andrew Muir

A fan looks at Dylan's "Never Ending Tour" from its beginning in 1988 through mid-2000.  (The book stops there - the tour is still going, of course.)  I don't know how much one really learns about Dylan and his work in this one, but it is a fascinating record of the world of intense Dylan fandom and one man's experience in it.