Most biographies of Bob Dylan co-opt the name of one of his songs for their titles, so Who Is That Man? stands out just for its title. In fact, this book is not an average biography. Nor was Bob Dylan an average man. As David Dalton makes clear, it's hard to know whether "Bob Dylan" has existed at all.
Born Robert Zimmerman in Hibbing, Minn., the man who became Bob Dylan has always been a moving target, as ambiguous and yet as vivid as his lyrics. Dalton captures this chameleon spirit through an in-depth look at Dylan's life, work and constant self-reinvention that follows in his subject's lyrical, figurative style. Dalton describes repeatedly how Dylan's perception of himself, and his accompanying public persona, often shifted in the middle of a project, so that by the time an album capturing one Bob Dylan came out, the "real" Bob Dylan had become someone else entirely--making "who is that man?" a constant quandary.
In his mutability, his repeated reincarnations and his constant willingness to lie (even Dylan's own memoir, Chronicles, is said to be a put-on), Bob Dylan reflects a quintessentially American tradition: overcoming life's obstacles by becoming someone else. Dalton traces this habit throughout Dylan's life, from his early tales of being orphaned and joining a circus to his capitulation to middle-class pedestrianism with his 2009 Christmas album. Who Is That Man? provides an artistic and lucid portrayal of an American icon--both "real" and invented. --Dani Alexis Ryskamp, blogger at The Book Cricket