At once comprehensive and enigmatic, Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine brilliantly showcases hundreds of photos and objects from the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla. Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel asked roughly 30 writers and artists to reflect on images or items from the Dylan archive, adding their diverse perspectives to the popular perceptions of the singer's long career and musical influence.
The book dives into Dylan's origin story, his years on the folk circuit, and the context of the American folk scene he would come to shape. It chronicles his experience of touring, recording, making videos, and becoming an activist. The book's sheer volume--photos, letters, ephemera, manuscripts--contrasts with its tightly focused deep-dive essays, forming a fascinating, kaleidoscopic portrait of an American icon. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams