I had a hard time with this memior. While there were moments of story telling genius in here, they were mired in self aggrandizing name dropping and disjointed structure that was particularly distracting for readers whom do not know anything of the "scene." If you're already a fan of this era of music, this book may come across as your cup of tea, but for those of us who come in cold, it missed the mark.

I had no idea Van Ronk was such a clever and funny dude. I would read this again. For fun.

One of the best firsthand accounts of a major period in American music on paper.

Liking or caring about folk music is not a prerequisite for enjoying this.

Reading Dylan's "Chronicles", where Van Ronk is often mentioned, I realized I had his autobio as well. Dave passed before the final edit, but music journalist Elijah Wald has done an excellent job pulling this all together.

A self-educated high school drop out and admitted Leftist, Van Ronk has obviously thought about the whole "Folk Scare" event of the '50's and '60's. He has many great stories, but he also has a whole chapter on Left Wing political groups in '50's NYC and how they were attached to different types of folk music.

With a short fuse for BS Van Ronk never stops from telling the truth - or at least the truth as he sees it. Great memoir of that whole scene, especially since it does not just tell about events, but also provides a critical reading of them as well.

Dave van Ronk explains the 60s to you, since you probably weren't there. Any scenester certainly knows the real truth more than any outsider. And yeah Dylan played exactly 5 coffeehouse gigs. Dave played 40 years worth. Amazingly lacking in bitterness, a clear-eyed reminiscence that will put you right on MacDougal at the height of the folk revolution.

Shachtmanite?

Highly recommended! If you're interested in the Greenwich folk & blues scene of the 50's & 60's I can't think of a better book. I've been in a bit of reading slump recently, and this was just what I needed.

Loved it. Lovingly recorded and written down by Van Ronk and Elijah Wald. Van Ronk was known to be a prolific storyteller, and reading this book it feels as if he's telling you these stories you're sitting in his living room. A must-read for any fan of the recent folk/americana scene.

Far more than a memoir, practically a microhistory of the New York folk scare and the New Left politics that surrounded it. Would highly recommend listening to a few of Dave's records before you read it, so you can imagine the prose as he intended it - in his own snarly, sardonic rasp.