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Woody Guthrie: A Life by Joe Klein ➤ Knopf 1980 First Edition
Woody Guthrie: A Life by Joe Klein Knopf, 1980 First Edition
Title: Woody Guthrie: A Life
Author: Joe Klein
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf 1980
Edition: First Edition
ISBN 10: 0394501527
Size: 6.25 X 9.5 X 1.25 * 476 pages
Synopsis: From the Jacket: Woody Guthrie is one of 20th-century America's most profoundly evocative names. Now, Joe Klein has written the life-legend-like, yet absolutely real and unromanticized-of this singer and song-maker ("This Land Is Your Land," "Union Maid," "The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd," "Dusty Old Dust"), who perhaps more than anyone else of our time is a true American folk hero.
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, born in 1912 in a small frontier town in Oklahoma, all his life embodied the indomitable, restless spirit engendered by the desolate loneliness, the openness and freedom, of that frontier. And it was he who became the greatest proponent of its powerful and haunting tradition of music-a music sustained by people to whom it was natural to sing out the drudgery and triumph, the brutality and exuberance, of their lives. Composed for any and every occasion, Woody's songs are celebrations and lamentations, outpourings of anger and outpourings of love-documenting some events, inventing others. Somehow, the combination of his childlike delight and time-earned skepticism, his first-hand knowledge of America and his boundless imagination, produced countless songs of simple grandeur.
Woody's life itself was a folk ballad both harsh and triumphant. Until the age of seven he lived a comfortable childhood, his father a successful real estate speculator. Then, ironically, the business was smashed by the oil boom, and his sister died in a fire his mother was suspected of setting. Soon afterward, his father was injured in a second fire (with the same suspicious origins) and left town to recuperate. Finally, Woody's mother was institutionalized, leaving him, at fifteen, to become an alley rat, a scavenger, a loner-rarely at school, fraternizing with outlaws and vagrants, playing his harmonica for hours on end.
With the discovery of an old guitar, Woody plunged into music completely: performing at barn dances and revival meetings, earning his living and enjoying his life despite the Depression. Then, in the mid-thirties, came the devastation of the Dust Bowl, and Woody became part of the endless stream of Okies immigrating west. From this journey, he derived a passionate sense of mission-both musical and political-and it was this that kept him on the road. He was taken in and nurtured by those who recognized his genius (Will Geer, Leadbelly, Alan Lomax, and the second of young Woody's wives, a Martha Graham dancer named Marjorie Mazia), just as Woody himself encouraged a Pete Seeger, and, in later years, an unknown Bob Dylan and his own son Arlo. He touched millions more as well: the migrant workers and Okies to, and about whom, he sang; the unflagging fans of his radio shows: the countless people who heard him at rallies, on records, in shows, on street corners. His truly American voice was listened to by America.
But Woody's life was not bathed in the golden glow he projected in his autobiographical works, Bound for Glory and Seeds of Man. The restless, compulsive need for freedom that informed his songs was also the cause of three dissolved marriages and the breakup of many friendships. The fire in which his four-year-old daughter died (and for which he would always blame him- self) was a hideous echo of the two disastrous fires of his own childhood. And, finally, in a dreadful prelude to death, Huntington's chorea (a rare hereditary disease, the source of behavior interpreted for years as drunkenness, and the real cause of his mother's mental instability) was to rob him of his precious ability to sing, to write, to make music.
Joe Klein's unique access to all of Guthrie's private papers, to photographs and letters, to people's memories of the man, has enabled him to give us the fullest picture of Guthrie we will ever have. But his book goes beyond one man's life in its vision of the place and meaning of folk music in America, and in its sure grasp of the political and social climate that helped to form Guthrie and that gave him his importance. Klein gives us a major biography of a major and fascinating American figure.
Joe Klein was born in 1946 and educated at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 1969, he has written for Rolling Stone, New York, Esquire, and other magazines. He lives in New York City.
Overall Condition: Very good: The book does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. There is no obvious damage to the cover the dust jacket (with minor wear and tear) is included. There are no missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. It may have very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover as well as very minimal wear and tear. See images.
Secure shipping bubble-wrapped in a new box.
2026--U.S. shipping for this (Three Pounds Media Mail) is $5.97 with tracking.
Multiple items will be combined for the lowest shipping price.
International Shipping cost is based on the destination so inquire before buying. Mobile users must scroll to the bottom and click on 'use desktop site' to bring up the Ask a Question link which sends me an email.
(PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.)
==========================================================================================================================
Just about all the books are USED books. Some have been used more gently than others. Some have been in libraries and have typical library extras. Some are so old and/or interesting that they are being offered for the sake of preservation regardless of the condition they are in. If the condition of the book is very important to you, please feel free to click the 'Ask seller a question' link and I will tell you more.
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Title: Woody Guthrie: A Life
Author: Joe Klein
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf 1980
Edition: First Edition
ISBN 10: 0394501527
Size: 6.25 X 9.5 X 1.25 * 476 pages
Synopsis: From the Jacket: Woody Guthrie is one of 20th-century America's most profoundly evocative names. Now, Joe Klein has written the life-legend-like, yet absolutely real and unromanticized-of this singer and song-maker ("This Land Is Your Land," "Union Maid," "The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd," "Dusty Old Dust"), who perhaps more than anyone else of our time is a true American folk hero.
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, born in 1912 in a small frontier town in Oklahoma, all his life embodied the indomitable, restless spirit engendered by the desolate loneliness, the openness and freedom, of that frontier. And it was he who became the greatest proponent of its powerful and haunting tradition of music-a music sustained by people to whom it was natural to sing out the drudgery and triumph, the brutality and exuberance, of their lives. Composed for any and every occasion, Woody's songs are celebrations and lamentations, outpourings of anger and outpourings of love-documenting some events, inventing others. Somehow, the combination of his childlike delight and time-earned skepticism, his first-hand knowledge of America and his boundless imagination, produced countless songs of simple grandeur.
Woody's life itself was a folk ballad both harsh and triumphant. Until the age of seven he lived a comfortable childhood, his father a successful real estate speculator. Then, ironically, the business was smashed by the oil boom, and his sister died in a fire his mother was suspected of setting. Soon afterward, his father was injured in a second fire (with the same suspicious origins) and left town to recuperate. Finally, Woody's mother was institutionalized, leaving him, at fifteen, to become an alley rat, a scavenger, a loner-rarely at school, fraternizing with outlaws and vagrants, playing his harmonica for hours on end.
With the discovery of an old guitar, Woody plunged into music completely: performing at barn dances and revival meetings, earning his living and enjoying his life despite the Depression. Then, in the mid-thirties, came the devastation of the Dust Bowl, and Woody became part of the endless stream of Okies immigrating west. From this journey, he derived a passionate sense of mission-both musical and political-and it was this that kept him on the road. He was taken in and nurtured by those who recognized his genius (Will Geer, Leadbelly, Alan Lomax, and the second of young Woody's wives, a Martha Graham dancer named Marjorie Mazia), just as Woody himself encouraged a Pete Seeger, and, in later years, an unknown Bob Dylan and his own son Arlo. He touched millions more as well: the migrant workers and Okies to, and about whom, he sang; the unflagging fans of his radio shows: the countless people who heard him at rallies, on records, in shows, on street corners. His truly American voice was listened to by America.
But Woody's life was not bathed in the golden glow he projected in his autobiographical works, Bound for Glory and Seeds of Man. The restless, compulsive need for freedom that informed his songs was also the cause of three dissolved marriages and the breakup of many friendships. The fire in which his four-year-old daughter died (and for which he would always blame him- self) was a hideous echo of the two disastrous fires of his own childhood. And, finally, in a dreadful prelude to death, Huntington's chorea (a rare hereditary disease, the source of behavior interpreted for years as drunkenness, and the real cause of his mother's mental instability) was to rob him of his precious ability to sing, to write, to make music.
Joe Klein's unique access to all of Guthrie's private papers, to photographs and letters, to people's memories of the man, has enabled him to give us the fullest picture of Guthrie we will ever have. But his book goes beyond one man's life in its vision of the place and meaning of folk music in America, and in its sure grasp of the political and social climate that helped to form Guthrie and that gave him his importance. Klein gives us a major biography of a major and fascinating American figure.
Joe Klein was born in 1946 and educated at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 1969, he has written for Rolling Stone, New York, Esquire, and other magazines. He lives in New York City.
Overall Condition: Very good: The book does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. There is no obvious damage to the cover the dust jacket (with minor wear and tear) is included. There are no missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. It may have very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover as well as very minimal wear and tear. See images.
Secure shipping bubble-wrapped in a new box.
2026--U.S. shipping for this (Three Pounds Media Mail) is $5.97 with tracking.
Multiple items will be combined for the lowest shipping price.
International Shipping cost is based on the destination so inquire before buying. Mobile users must scroll to the bottom and click on 'use desktop site' to bring up the Ask a Question link which sends me an email.
(PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.)
==========================================================================================================================
Just about all the books are USED books. Some have been used more gently than others. Some have been in libraries and have typical library extras. Some are so old and/or interesting that they are being offered for the sake of preservation regardless of the condition they are in. If the condition of the book is very important to you, please feel free to click the 'Ask seller a question' link and I will tell you more.
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