Bob Dylan and me - there's one big difference
Bob Dylan, the musical poet laureate of the 1960s who railed against the establishment, war and greed, has been busted for selling his new book of essays with a misleading hook: each book, his publisher and he vowed, would be autographed by Dylan himself.
That, in the eyes of Dylan’s most rabid fans, would justify the $600 they were forking over for the book of essays.
Once people who’d bought the book started comparing his autograph online, though, they noticed something strange: each of the signatures was exactly the same as all of the others.
Why? Because the publisher, Simon & Schuster, was forced to confess that Dylan – the man who wrote the soundtrack to much of the anti-war and Civil Rights movements - didn’t actually write his name in each book.
Scratch that: he didn’t write it in any of them.
Instead, he used something called an autopen, a contraption that replicates a person’s signature. It’s like a fancier version of a rubber stamp.
The cantankerous cultural icon is famous for adopting Henry Ford’s motto – never complain, never explain – but this time not only did he explain, he apologized.
Dylan, in a Facebook post, said he was feeling poorly when the time came to sign the books and thus resorted to the autopen.
The publisher said it would refund the money to the people who bought the books with the fake autograph, and the 900 people who bought it can have the satisfaction of knowing they are in an exclusive group – people to whom the legendarily surly Dylan apologized.
Now, neither I nor anyone else has written anything more powerful than Dylan’s song Blowin’ In The Wind, but I can promise you this, dear readers: when you buy my books, I will sign each and every one of them myself – and even personalize them if you tell me to whom you want it sent.
With the holiday season kicking off, many of you are no doubt trying to figure out what to get for the hard-to-please person in your home, in your office, in your life.
Fret not. From the comfort of your couch, you can order Do Unto Others… And Then Run and …And The Horse You Rode In On, Saunders.
Both books are sure to give you hours upon hours of enjoyable reading and are bound to become keepsakes passed down through generations.
The also make great paperweights and doorstops.
So, to borrow the words of one of Dylan’s great songs “Don’t think twice: buy them today.”
Go to thesaundersreport.com’s bookstore and order now to ensure that your loved ones receive their authentic autographed copies in time for the holidays.
