This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie (Golden Kite Awards)

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book.
Review: An always interesting and well presented recap of an astonishing
life. This book has stayed on my nightstand to be picked up again and again at all hours.

Rating:
Summary: Below me the golden valley
Review: Elizabeth Partridge set herself up with a monumentally difficult task when she decided to write an authoritative juvenile biography of the great Woody Guthrie. How to write a story about a man that was simultaneously brilliant and woebegotten? Who spoke out for racial equality, strength among the masses, and freedom while also leaving every family who ever loved him? Partridge has done as good a job as could be done, considering her circumstances. The result is a meticulously researched labor of love that is just as much tribute as it is tell-all. As Pete Seeger himself has said about the work, "The best book about Woody ever written".

Woody Guthrie was born in 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma to a mother with Huntington's Disease and a father who joined lynch mobs and Klu Klux Klans. Talking about this point in Woody's life, Partridge simultaneously displays all the harsh horrible things Woody had to deal with growing up without actually condemning anyone. In fact, the portions of the text that talk about Charley Guthrie (Woody's father) joining in the persecution of African-Americans aren't related with any commentary at all. It's as if Partridge is working on the assumption that the readers will be able to process these facts and come to their own conclusions, rather than have interpretations rammed down their throat. It is also the first moment the author gives the audience the benefit of the doubt. It is not the last.

Moving on through Woody's life, we see him grow up, loose his parents (one way or another), and join various bands. We also see him beginning to travel all across the country on his own. At last, Woody marries and it becomes clear that he is not exactly prime husband material. Abandoning his wife regularly to travel (sometimes when she's just about to give birth), Woody joins various causes around the country. When Woody and his wife finally break up, her narrative abruptly ends. Patridge has a habit of following the people in Woody's life meticulously right up until the moment Woody breaks off all contact with them. Then, their story ends immediately. We never really learn how Woody's father ended his life. Or what became of Woody's children by his first wife (though an afterword in the back of the text explaining Huntington's Disease explains that all but three of his children died either of the disease or of car accidents). Do we criticize Partridge for her choice or narratives? Or do we accept that she really couldn't continually follow Woody's friends and relatives because of space and narrative issues? I'm inclined towards the latter, though it would have been nice to see a little afterword that explains what became of everyone.

Moving towards Woody's second wife, the war, and his battle with Huntington's, Partridge nicely melds text with social commentary. Woody's acceptance of all people, regardless of color, is especially well done. As he sinks further into Huntington's, and has an affair with a pretty young folk singer, the reader sees how Woody finally loses control. A little more information about the talented Arlo Guthrie (his son) would not be out of place at this point, but this is Woody's story, I suppose. Finally, we read Woody's death. The story ends.

Partridge is to be commended for how interesting this book is. As I read it, my husband continually asked me why this was considered a juvenile book. Apart from being published by a press for young readers, I have to assume it's considered a youth text because its so doggone interesting. The words are a little larger than you'd find in an adult biography. The pictures a little more interesting and consistent. On the whole it's a great read. Most wonderful of all is how well the book has been researched. Partridge includes an Afterword about her own personal connection to the subject, a tribute to the Woody Guthrie Foundation, information on Huntington's Disease, Acknowledgements (in which she mentions her interviews with Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seegar), Source Notes, a Bibliography, an Index, Picture Credits, and Permissions. She is nothing if not extensive.

"This Land Was Made For You and Me" is not the world's most definitive biography written with youth in mind, but it comes pretty darn close. But don't limit it to the kids. Read it yourself. Learn a little more about what made the great man tick. Though it's over-quoted, here's what Woody himself had to say about his music:

"I hate a song that makes you think that you're not any good. I hate a song that makes you think you are just born to lose. I am out to fight those kind of songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood".

Rating:
Summary: Below me the golden valley
Review: Elizabeth Partridge set herself up with a monumentally difficult task when she decided to write an authoritative juvenile biography of the great Woody Guthrie. How to write a story about a man that was simultaneously brilliant and woebegotten? Who spoke out for racial equality, strength among the masses, and freedom while also leaving every family who ever loved him? Partridge has done as good a job as could be done, considering her circumstances. The result is a meticulously researched labor of love that is just as much tribute as it is tell-all. As Pete Seeger himself has said about the work, "The best book about Woody ever written".

Woody Guthrie was born in 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma to a mother with Huntington's Disease and a father who joined lynch mobs and Klu Klux Klans. Talking about this point in Woody's life, Partridge simultaneously displays all the harsh horrible things Woody had to deal with growing up without actually condemning anyone. In fact, the portions of the text that talk about Charley Guthrie (Woody's father) joining in the persecution of African-Americans aren't related with any commentary at all. It's as if Partridge is working on the assumption that the readers will be able to process these facts and come to their own conclusions, rather than have interpretations rammed down their throat. It is also the first moment the author gives the audience the benefit of the doubt. It is not the last.

Moving on through Woody's life, we see him grow up, loose his parents (one way or another), and join various bands. We also see him beginning to travel all across the country on his own. At last, Woody marries and it becomes clear that he is not exactly prime husband material. Abandoning his wife regularly to travel (sometimes when she's just about to give birth), Woody joins various causes around the country. When Woody and his wife finally break up, her narrative abruptly ends. Patridge has a habit of following the people in Woody's life meticulously right up until the moment Woody breaks off all contact with them. Then, their story ends immediately. We never really learn how Woody's father ended his life. Or what became of Woody's children by his first wife (though an afterword in the back of the text explaining Huntington's Disease explains that all but three of his children died either of the disease or of car accidents). Do we criticize Partridge for her choice or narratives? Or do we accept that she really couldn't continually follow Woody's friends and relatives because of space and narrative issues? I'm inclined towards the latter, though it would have been nice to see a little afterword that explains what became of everyone.

Moving towards Woody's second wife, the war, and his battle with Huntington's, Partridge nicely melds text with social commentary. Woody's acceptance of all people, regardless of color, is especially well done. As he sinks further into Huntington's, and has an affair with a pretty young folk singer, the reader sees how Woody finally loses control. A little more information about the talented Arlo Guthrie (his son) would not be out of place at this point, but this is Woody's story, I suppose. Finally, we read Woody's death. The story ends.

Partridge is to be commended for how interesting this book is. As I read it, my husband continually asked me why this was considered a juvenile book. Apart from being published by a press for young readers, I have to assume it's considered a youth text because its so doggone interesting. The words are a little larger than you'd find in an adult biography. The pictures a little more interesting and consistent. On the whole it's a great read. Most wonderful of all is how well the book has been researched. Partridge includes an Afterword about her own personal connection to the subject, a tribute to the Woody Guthrie Foundation, information on Huntington's Disease, Acknowledgements (in which she mentions her interviews with Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seegar), Source Notes, a Bibliography, an Index, Picture Credits, and Permissions. She is nothing if not extensive.

"This Land Was Made For You and Me" is not the world's most definitive biography written with youth in mind, but it comes pretty darn close. But don't limit it to the kids. Read it yourself. Learn a little more about what made the great man tick. Though it's over-quoted, here's what Woody himself had to say about his music:

"I hate a song that makes you think that you're not any good. I hate a song that makes you think you are just born to lose. I am out to fight those kind of songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood".

Rating:
Summary: Clumsy writing, but a necessary book
Review: I couldn't help but find myself wishing someone else had written this book, because the "Life and Songs" of Woody Guthrie do indeed deserve a treatment for younger readers. The inability of the author to convey the importance and pain of the political events of the period, is especially dispiriting. And Guthrie's own life could have been presented with a more perspicacious examination of his artistry.
All the same, somewhat recommended.

Rating:
Summary: We shall overcome ! !
Review: I really enjoyed this book.A longtime fan of Woody and have the bulk of his music that has been published.I have other books of Guthrie;namely, Woody,Cisco,&Me by Jim Longhi,Pastures of Heaven by Woody,edited by Marsh and Leventhal,Woody Guthrie-a life by Joe Klein and this is a very good addition.Though it is a quick read, there is a lot of fresh stuff;plus a lot of really good pictures I've not seen before.
If Pete Seeger says "The best book about Woody ever written", it's got to be good. Can you imagine Pete saying something he didn't believe? Get it,it's a keeper and enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Clumsy writing, but a necessary book
Review: In the past year I have discovered the songs of Woody Guthrie, from which it is clear that the man was simply America's troubadour. In his relatively short lifetime, he wrote over three thousand songs, with new ones seemingly being discovered (or rediscovered) each year. He sang about the Depression, the Dust Bowl, Union workers, the Pacific Northwest, and seemingly every subject under the sun that a man would encounter wandering the country from one end to the other singing songs. From Woody Guthrie springs the Weavers, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. Or maybe it is simply better to think about them as standing on Guthrie's broad shoulders. I have picked up bits and pieces of Guthrie's life from liner notes and on some of the narration provided on the Guthrie tribute album. So finding a biography that looks at both the life and songs of Woody Guthrie is exactly what I was looking for at this point in my musical education.

Elizabeth Partridge's biography is intended for ages 12 and up, but it is certainly more than a juvenile biography. Most of the book is devoted to the twenty years when Guthrie was most productive, since the last dozen years of his life he was essentially hospitalized with Huntington's Disease. Ironically, this was just as the nation was enjoying a folk music revival of which he should have been the centerpiece. In researching his life story Partridge interviewed not only his good friend and fellow musician Pete Seeger, but Guthrie's children Arlo and Nora, who gave her access to rare tapes of unreleased songs as well as thousands of pages of journals, articles, book manuscripts, sketches, and paintings. What I liked best about "This Land Was Made For You and Me" is how she integrates Guthrie's songs, words, poems, and drawings into the story of his life. If anything, I wish she had included more songs and lyrics throughout the book. The book is filled with photographs, many from the Guthrie family, but there are also several showing the life and times in which Guthrie wrote and sang his songs. Most importantly, whether you are a young reader or an old timer like myself, you will get a sense of the life of Woody Guthrie. Just do not forget to listen to the music.

Rating:
Summary: The life and songs of America's folk singer, Woody Guthrie
Review: In the past year I have discovered the songs of Woody Guthrie, from which it is clear that the man was simply America's troubadour. In his relatively short lifetime, he wrote over three thousand songs, with new ones seemingly being discovered (or rediscovered) each year. He sang about the Depression, the Dust Bowl, Union workers, the Pacific Northwest, and seemingly every subject under the sun that a man would encounter wandering the country from one end to the other singing songs. From Woody Guthrie springs the Weavers, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. Or maybe it is simply better to think about them as standing on Guthrie's broad shoulders. I have picked up bits and pieces of Guthrie's life from liner notes and on some of the narration provided on the Guthrie tribute album. So finding a biography that looks at both the life and songs of Woody Guthrie is exactly what I was looking for at this point in my musical education.

Elizabeth Partridge's biography is intended for ages 12 and up, but it is certainly more than a juvenile biography. Most of the book is devoted to the twenty years when Guthrie was most productive, since the last dozen years of his life he was essentially hospitalized with Huntington's Disease. Ironically, this was just as the nation was enjoying a folk music revival of which he should have been the centerpiece. In researching his life story Partridge interviewed not only his good friend and fellow musician Pete Seeger, but Guthrie's children Arlo and Nora, who gave her access to rare tapes of unreleased songs as well as thousands of pages of journals, articles, book manuscripts, sketches, and paintings. What I liked best about "This Land Was Made For You and Me" is how she integrates Guthrie's songs, words, poems, and drawings into the story of his life. If anything, I wish she had included more songs and lyrics throughout the book. The book is filled with photographs, many from the Guthrie family, but there are also several showing the life and times in which Guthrie wrote and sang his songs. Most importantly, whether you are a young reader or an old timer like myself, you will get a sense of the life of Woody Guthrie. Just do not forget to listen to the music.

Rating:
Summary: Woody Guthrie's life & songs
Review: This book is very appealing at first glance. The cover is striking and attractive. The pages hold many photos and other features include notes on sources used, notes on where to find further information, and an index. Elizabeth Partridge portrays Woody Guthrie lovingly despite his failings in his domestic life.

The problems come when actually reading the book. Some of the pictures seem unnecessary and included just to take up space. The pictures are sometimes poorly placed and do not match up with the information until a few pages later. Partridge also focuses on his years as an artist and includes very little information about Huntington's Disease. A brief section on what the disease actually does to a person and perhaps the treatments used would have been a nice addition to the book.

Nevertheless, the book is a wonderful resource and an enjoyable read.