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Van Morrison
Them and the Bang Era,
1945-1968

by Howard Dewitt

664 pages.
Published 2005 by Horizon Books,
PO Box 3083, Fremont, CA. 94539

Review by Michael Hayward:
Howard Dewitt is a Professor of History at Ohlone College in Fremont, California. He is the author of eighteen books, including 1983's Van Morrison: The Mystic's Music. This new book is the first in a projected three-volume biography of Van. In the Acknowledgements section, Dewitt notes that he began this volume in 1984, "just one year after The Mystic's Music appeared to excellent critical reviews. The idea was to complete a full length and in depth biography over a three year period. After 23 years there are three volumes and more than 2,000 pages in the forthcoming Van multi-volume biography."

At 664 pages for volume one alone this is clearly a labor of love, and judging from this first volume it will be an important addition to the library of any serious Van Morrison fan. Howard notes in his Introduction that "there will always be Van Morrison lovers, but this volume is not for them. The hagiographic books they search for can be found in other works. There is no romanticism and little hero worship in this study. The reason is a simple one. Of all the rock, pop, jazz, or whatever Van calls himself, singers there is no one who has the work ethic or the style of the Belfast Cowboy."

This biography is not yet listed with Amazon.com, but you should be able to order directly from Horizon Books. Contact Howard at his email address: Howard217@aol.com to place your order. It's $35 US plus shipping and handling. [You may need to get quotes for orders from outside the US]

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