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The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 157 ratings · 31 reviews

Donovan's autobiography charts his life from a post-war, Glaswegian childhood to the height of an international career as one of the leading figures of the 1960's music scene. Always feeling like an outsider, he found relief through music and poetry. The book reveals how he came to be influenced by Buddhist teachings, and the music of Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez. The book
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Paperback , 320 pages
Published January 9th 2007 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published 2005)
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 236)
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Michael
i'm not going to lie, i could care less about how much this guy loves his shirt. i'd never take donovan seriously, and i bought this for my wife for xmas, she's quite the fan. i read it for the hell of it. and...well, i really enjoyed it. i never knew much about his early career or all the things that he accomplished at such a young age. yeah, not the biggest donovan fan ever, and there's lots of ego stroking going on but after reading the book i decided to take a crack at sunshine superman (the ...more
Amy
Clearly it was time for a biography to be written about Donovan. And since nobody else was going to do it, Donovan had to shoulder that burden himself.

At best Donovan’s memoir captures the Zeitgeist of the sixties straight from the horse’s mouth, in his own clumsy yet earnest, somewhat-stream-of-consciousness style. Sure, his dialect is embarrassingly beatnik at times, but what else would you expect from the man who gave us Mellow Yellow? It feels like the genuine artifact; i.e., the gawkishnes
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John Read
I always thought Donovan got a raw deal in the endless comparisons with Dylan. I still think he is better. (They 'hung out' together quite a lot.) For anyone who was around in the 60s this is a great read. Donovan socialised or worked with just about any 'name' you can think of from those days of 'free love.' And Donovan got plenty of that too. The speed at which he moved from bumming around St Ives and learning guitar to releasing records and performing major gigs is amazing. Less than a year. ...more
Liz
If we are to believe everything Donovan tells us in this book, then he invented the 60's, the beatles, the rolling stones, Dylan, LSD, marijuana, Ravi Shankar & the indian inspired music and fashion of the time and anything cool or ground breaking for the 60's. In fact he would lead us to believe that he was the forefront of every movement social, musical or otherwise that occurred from 1960's onward.
Yes Hurdy Gurdy Man is a cool song, but I'm hard pressed to remember any others. I wasn't th
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Lizzie
May 21, 2012 Lizzie rated it 2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: People who adore Donovan
When I first flipped through this book it looked fascinating, and I couldn't wait to find it used. Now I have no idea what I saw in it - it's a vapid, rather boring account of Donovan's rise to fame with a subplot of whether or not he'll reunite with Linda (Brian Jones' ex!), the girl he pushed away but who is is true love. Since I looked through the photos before I started it and saw pictures of their wedding, I ruined the suspense for myself and am ruining it for you. The early parts about his ...more
Alana
I love Donovan's music and the book of poetry he wrote many years ago (Dry Songs and Scribbles) was brilliant. He writes very sweetly- his lyrics are beautifully and romantically structured.
But I was extremely disappointed in this book; as a long time fan of Donovan, I got no perspective into his journey into the creative process nor a new understanding of his relationship to music, writing or the people around him. Much of the book seems to be a listing of names ('we were at ... with- followed
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Mohamed Eid
a very interesting book by a great musician of the 60s, he simply reveals what his fans wish to know about his personal life and his song writing process... etc
Belinda
I admit it--I have always loved Donovan. Probably not surprising for those who know me well, I am a mass of personalities and one of them is definitely a hippie. I fell madly in love with Donovan when I was a little girl and they would play his videos on the defunct but fabulous MTV show (remember back before it was taken up with intelligence-sucking reality shows and they played music?)Closet Classics. I loved "Sunshine Superman" and "Atlantis" and of course "Mellow Yellow". He was a cute littl ...more
Jennifer Burns
I have been a Donovan fan since I heard him croon the most wonderful song (and my namesake) "Jennifer Juniper." I knew I was in love. Imagine the surprise that overcame me when I discovered that Donovan had written an autobiography. I just had to have it.

I was not disappointed. This is a fabulous look at the 1960's from a true bohemian point of view. Although some may not agree, he describes his influences and muse without being too pretentious. After all, he did spend a summer in St. Ives strum
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Heather
Verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry boring and disappointing. I like several of Donovan's songs and I thought I would learn more about him by reading his autobiography. I didn't learn very much about him at all. It seemed that one day he was a beatnick, heading for life on the road, and the next day he's a musician. Then, the day after that, he's on Ready, Steady, Go and has a record deal. I read several books while I was reading this one because it was quite boring. I still like his music, but this book did no ...more
Raechel
Loved this Donovan book - if i was like Donovan I'd say i was the first person ever to have read it, but i guess Donovan was the first person ever to have read it and I would just be bad vibin' him if i was to say i'd been there first :0) As much as i love him, this book is hilarious for all the wrong reasons. Ego is a very funny thing...
Leilani
This book was very good. I do not understand why it is that people think it improper for Donovan to tell of his accomplishments, for he does it in a straight forward way. And personally, I feel like no one else talks of them, so he has every right to do so.
I enjoyed the casual way he writes and tells his story, very beatnik.
Pete daPixie
I found out Donovan worked in the same St.Ives restaurant in Cornwall, and hung out in the same places, and dossed in the same woods as I did. His St Albans early sixties period was interesting for me too, especially his guitar playing development.
Typical sixties hippy trippy mantra from flower child minstrel Donovan.
Jen
Let me start by saying I'm a huge fan of Donovan's music, but I didn't know much about him as a person going into his autobiography.

The first 5 years of Donovan's musical career was meteoric; that timeframe is the focus of The Hurdy Gurdy Man . At times, the book is a bit disjointed and muddled. Considering he was writing about events from 4 decades ago (events often clouded by drugs, alcohol, and hormones), it's surprising that he is able to tell as cohesive story as he does. The book begins in
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Andy
Aug 16, 2008 Andy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition
Recommends it for: Sixties casualties
Shelves: rock-sleaze
I don't even care if this book sucks. Donovan rules!



Okay, I'm done with the book. It's lame. Donovan still made some great records, though.
Julia
Aug 07, 2007 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: classic rock enthusiasts, those who believe in the city of Atlantis
Donovan was (and still is?) a best friend to just about everyone in 60s rock, which makes this book interesting.
Andrew
Picked this one up at poundland and glad I did ,It was an interesting read and full of interesting tales along the 60's highway with Donovan.
At times Donovan can come across as desperate to write a legacy for himself where surely his songs are enough? Donovan is so desperate to eschew the Bob Dylan comparisons that at times this becomes laughable..his protesting at the fact he wore a Breton cap before Bob and plugged in his Guitar before Bob being two examples.
Musically I think Donovan was far m
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Sean
As pop/rock bios go - this one's not bad. Mr. Leitch writes a competent look back at his childhood in Scotland, his discovery of music and youthful wanderings in Cornwall.

He covers his first flush of fame with a level head and lets the reader in on some of the details of his songwriting and studio recordings. That hotel incident with Bob Dylan (seen in D.A. Pennebaker's "Don't Look Back") is also re-interpreted by Donovan. He becomes the first 60s pop star busted for marijuana possession, hangs
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Deb
I picked this book up having been warned by another person on one of my reading challenges that Donovan's ego was running a bit wild. Still, having come of age on a lot of his music, I figured I'd give the book a chance.

Well, I have never read such blatant, self-aggrandizing rubbish in my life. In fact, I've hung out around musicians most of my adult life and have never heard such self-aggrandizing rubbish. He claims that he originated Celtic Rock, implies that Led Zepplin was formed because Bon
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Jasmine
A gentle artistic spirit who wrote some awesome songs (Sunshine Superman, Mellow Yellow) in the swinging sixties between the tender ages of sixteen and twenty four. Yes, at times he comes off as an arrogant little sod (his words, not mine) and he makes some outrageous claims (he created psychedelic rock, Celtic rock, flower power, the guitar finger picking style) but still a mostly enjoyable read through the sixties, man. It did get a little boring towards the end of the sixties, but overall I ' ...more
Laura
Donovan burned bright and fast. That's what I learned. I also learned that Donovan should not write 300 page books without a ghost-writer... an editor... ANYONE who could have helped him flesh out lists of events and happenings. At times, I felt I was reading a middle school essay, "What I Did During the 1960s." Sometimes fun, but mostly disappointingly forgettable. I was really hoping for more insight on his experiences and inspirations.
~*Rachael*~
Great book! Donovan is an original folk pioneer & even though some say he's a bit boasty in his writing, I think he's earned it! Yes, he credits himself for bringing 'World Music' & Celtic Music to popular culture but isn't it kinda true? Long story short - I recommend this book to anyone who loves the 60's/counterculture (& also anyone who loves the Beatles.) Donovan shares many great stories about some of the legends of that era. <3
Megan
I don't even know where to begin listing all the things that are wrong with this book. Do yourself a favor and don't bother reading it--rent the documentary 'Sunshine Superman - The Journey Of Donovan' instead. More objective, more informative, and better edited by far.
Robin B
It was interesting. I liked getting some insight into a musician I didn't know much about, but I enjoyed the stories from before his rise to fame more than I enjoyed the ones after.
Fiona Robson
Fantastic read - a must for any serious Donovan fan. Lovely writing style from a lovable dude.
Caroline
Donovan, it's good that you could write your own story, but please proofread.
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Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch ) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donovan
More about Donovan...
Dry Songs and Scribbles The Songs of Donovan The Party's Over Systems Programming Hurdy Gurdy Man

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