While the author says outright that his work is not a narrative -- while hoping people who saw "A Complete Unknown" will flock to this as well -- "Things Have Changed" is more of a tirade over something that happened over 45 years ago that he just cannot let go.

The author spends the first 100 pages of this extended blog post stating over and over what he hopes his book will accomplish, as though repeating his claims will support his theories. His claim to fame, if he has any, was that he conducted the interview wherein Dylan described the music of his mid-1960s peak as "that thin... wild mercury sound". He goes on to pose that it was his interview that sent Dylan further into crisis, directly resulting in his so-called born-again period, which the author repeatedly calls a brainwashing by a cult. He repeatedly decries other so-called Dylanologists, without realizing that he comes off as one himself, as backhanded as Heylin and as obsessed as Weberman. (He states that he couldn't find a way to access YouTube because his computer wouldn't let him; he couldn't have borrowed somebody else's? Used one at a library?)

For someone who's supposedly a lifelong scholar of Dylan's music and life, he gets a lot of basic facts wrong, misattributes lyrics to songs, spends way too much time taking credit for things, and doesn't once consider that maybe Dylan was putting him on too.

This will hopefully get another editing pass because there is some deep insight here, but the repetitions about Dylan being taken over by a Christian cult, the 5x repeat of the author's dislike of the phrase Dylanologists and other recurring bits start to grate. The author is still defining what this book will be about more than half way through the book. That said, it remains readable and a unique take on some aspects of Dylan's career and persona.

It is always interesting to read about Bob Dylan. In this book, Ron Rosenbaum dives into looking at Dylan through his lyrics. This book is a glimpse into Dylan. Well written and creative lens!

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.