Description
Book SynopsisFirst published in 1943, this autobiography is also a superb portrait of America's Depression years, by the folk singer, activist, and man who saw it all.Woody Guthrie was born in Oklahoma and traveled this whole country over—not by jet or motorcycle, but by boxcar, thumb, and foot. During the journey of discovery that was his life, he composed and sang words and music that have become a national heritage. His songs, however, are but part of his legacy. Behind him Woody Guthrie left a remarkable autobiography that vividly brings to life both his vibrant personality and a vision of America we cannot afford to let die.
“Even readers who never heard Woody or his songs will understand the current esteem in which he’s held after reading just a few pages… Always shockingly immediate and real, as if Woody were telling it out loud… A book to make novelists and sociologists jealous.”
—
The NationTrade Review“Even readers who never heard Woody or his songs will understand the current esteem in which he’s held after reading just a few pages… Always shockingly immediate and real, as if Woody were telling it out loud… A book to make novelists and sociologists jealous.”—
The Nation
"Deserves the attention of this generation... It is not only a fascinating autobiography, it is a voice from the grass roots of America... Woody speaks for the indomitable spirit of an independent man who set out to do his own thing."—
Library Journal
"Woody Guthrie was the greatest composer and singer of folk songs America has produced. In his autobiography, he tells how he grew up in Oklahoma, rode the rails, and found inspiration for his music through his own hard times during the Depression. As his songs attrest, he's a good prose stylist, with an ear for the patterns of American speech."—
The Washington PostTable of ContentsForeword: "So Long, Woody, It's Been Good to Know Ya" by Pete Seeger
A Tribute to Woody Guthrie by Stewart L. Udall, Secretary of the Interior
I. Soldiers in the Dust
II. Empty Snuff Cans
III. I Ain't Mad at Nobody
IV. New Kittens
V. Mister Cyclone
VI. Boomchasers
VII. Cain't No Gang Whip Us Now
VIII. Fire Extinguishers
IX. A Fast-Running Train Whistles Down
X. The Junking Sack
XI. Boy in Search of Something
XII. Trouble Busting
XIII. Off to California
XIV. The House on the Hill
XV. The Telegram that Never Came
XVI. Stormy Night
XVII. Extra Selects
XVIII. Crossroads
XIX. Train Bound for Glory
Postscript
