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Imagine

I finished the Steve Jobs bio. Superb. I’ve now started Imagine by Jonah Lehrer. One third of the way in and it is tremendous. In talking about how Dylan re-invented himself and his music, Lehrer talks about Bob Dylan’s disdain for his critics when he started playing electric guitar and how bored and disgusted he became trying to be who others wanted him to be. I remembered the documentary Scorsese made about Dylan, No Direction Home and David Hajdu’s portrait of the young Dylan, Positively 4th Street. Dylan was a self-centered visionary who treated the people around him with little sensitivity and sometimes cruelty. Jobs had that side as well. Like Dylan, he hated conforming to expectations about himself. Jobs also was a huge fan of Dylan. Despite their insensitivity, both men attracted people who craved their attention and respect.

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