Greil Marcus

Mystery Train by Greil Marcus is universally acclaimed as the benchmark work of modern rock criticism. Marcus's study uses a handful of artists—a brace of bluesmen, The Band, Sly Stone, Randy Newman, and Elvis Presley—to illuminate and interpret the American Dream. In rigorous prose, the book touches on the myth, landscape, and oral tradition of the continent. This comprehensive, revised...

Acclaimed cultural critic Greil Marcus tells the story of Bob Dylan through the lens of seven penetrating songs. "The most interesting writer on Dylan over the years has been the cultural critic Greil Marcus. . . . No one alive knows the music that fueled Dylan’s imagination better. . . . Folk Music . . . [is an] ingenious book...

From a celebrated critic, a heartfelt and adventurous reflection on the art of writing about art. "Essential for fans of Marcus and fruitful reading for anyone reflecting on the mysteries of art."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Writers write. They can't help it. They can't not." In this spirited book, the revered cultural critic Greil Marcus explains his compulsion as a yearning...

From a celebrated critic, a heartfelt and adventurous reflection on the art of writing about art. Essential for fans of Marcus and fruitful reading for anyone reflecting on the mysteries of art. — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Writers write. They can't help it. They can't not." In this spirited book, the revered cultural critic Greil Marcus explains his compulsion as...

One of our finest critics gives us an altogether original history of rock ’n’ roll. Unlike all previous versions of rock ’n’ roll history, this book omits almost every iconic performer and ignores the storied events and turning points that everyone knows. Instead, in a daring stroke, Greil Marcus selects ten songs recorded between 1956 and 2008, then proceeds to...

An "astute, challenging, and far-reaching” look (Kirkus Reviews, starred) at how F. Scott Fitzgerald’s vision of the American Dream has been understood, portrayed, distorted, misused, and kept alive. “I found great pleasure in . . . Under the Red White and Blue . . . about the idea of the American dream, its allure, the exploitation of it.” —Percival Everett,...

From the author of The History of Rock ’n’ Roll in Ten Songs comes his “Basement Tapes”: the complete Real Life Rock Top 10 columns For nearly thirty years, Greil Marcus has written a remarkable column called "Real Life Rock Top Ten." It has been a laboratory where he has fearlessly explored and wittily dissected an enormous variety of cultural...

"It may be the most sophisticated political thriller ever made in Hollywood," film critic Pauline Kael wrote of John Frankenheimer's terrifying 1962 political thriller about an American serviceman brainwashed in Korea and made into an assassin. Sophisticated to be sure, it's also a headlong fall through the looking-glass of American politics and the most deeply prophetic film of the second...

Acclaimed cultural critic Greil Marcus tells the story of Bob Dylan through the lens of seven penetrating songs. “Marcus delivers yet another essential work of music journalism.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Further elevates Marcus to what he has always been: a supreme artist-critic.” —Hilton Als Across seven decades, Bob Dylan has been the first singer of American song. As a...

A funny, fierce, and uninhibited musical chronicle of the convulsive past six years from one of our finest cultural critics “A smart set of suggestions for further reading, viewing, and listening by a most trustworthy guide.”—Kirkus Reviews “This new collection of Marcus’ long-running column continues his role as a great chronicler of the highways and byways of American culture. This...