October 15, 2011
Seasoned author Bidini (Home and Away: One Writer's Inspiring Experience at the Homeless World Cup of Soccer) showcases a creative take on music history writing in this series of imagined letters to Canadian folk artist Gordon Lightfoot. He takes readers on a startlingly authentic journey through myriad events that occurred during the week of July 10-17, 1972, culminating in the annual Mariposa Folk Festival that weekend. Throughout the letters to Lightfoot, Bidini weaves a historical context of events that changed not only Canada but also the world, sometimes in bits of deliciously wild, Kerouac-like narrative, in parts real, imagined, and embellished. While readers learn of growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the West, airline hijackings, and a massive solar eclipse, concertgoers (including Lightfoot) quietly arrive in Toronto for one of the most memorable music festivals in the nation's history. VERDICT Bidini's letters conjure a sense of deeply personal introspection that forces us all to consider our connection to the musicians we love. Fans of Lightfoot, folk music, and early 1970s history will greatly enjoy this inventive book.--Carolyn M. Schwartz, Westfield State Univ. Lib., MA
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