My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this biography on an artist whose songs have been covered by numerous artists, works hung in museums or installations, and yet is more of folk hero, rather than an artist of renown.

"There’s a desperation to be visual when you grow up in a place that has nothing visual.” This line appears in the early part of this biography and made me stop cold. There is a lot of truth to this. Growing up with an interest not in common with many of the people in my community, when I would travel to places that had things that interested me, I went almost drunk with stimuli. For an artist comfortable with both words and creating art from objects, Terry Allen sure has come a long way from being an a house with only one piece of art, an etching of a ship. Albums, installations, memorial pieces, Terry Allen has created quite a lot in his life, and is still going strong, though his songs are more known by the artists who covered them, and his art might not be something one would have at home. Truckload of Art:The Life and Work of Terry Allen—An Authorized Biography by writer, curator, folklorist Brendan Greaves is a study of the man's life, his growing up, inspirations, and how his art came to be.

Terry Allen was born in Wichita, Kansas, but grew up in Lubbock Texas. Allen's father had played baseball, and a mother who had a lot of unfulfilled dreams. After retiring Allen's father Shed started promoting concerts in the area along with wrestling shows, where Allen would hang out, see shows and find a love in entertainment. Wrestling brought him closes with the Mexican community in the area, who came for the Lucha action. The music Allen liked was black musicians, especially Bo Diddley, whose music hit him like the atom bombs people were learning to duck and cover from. The death of his father left him lost, words and music kept him sane. That and the love of his wife, Jo Harvey Allen. Allen went west, studied to be an architect, but the ideas of being an artists were never really shelved. Albums were made, favorites more of a certain class of ears, but songs that have been covered by many artists, and still ring true today. Along with the art, that slowly began to emerge.

I must admit to not knowing much about Terry Allen at all, before reading this. And now I am fascinated. This is due both to the live of the man, and the writing by Brendan Greaves who does a very good job of covering the life of this man in full. Greaves can discuss small town life, parents with addiction problems, the art market, recording and more quite well. The amount of research and work that went into this book must have been extraordinary. There are interviews with Allen, his family, friends and others in the art field, as well as discussions about music, more art, academic life, and life in a small town. There are quite a lot of great lines, most from Allen, about creating art, being an artist, and having the drive to strive. I went into this not knowing much, and now I feel like I have been a fan most of my life. In fact I am listening to some songs while I write this. A really well-written biography, that really looks at a life in full.

Recommended for readers who enjoy music histories, art history, and life in the 60's and 70's. This is also a very interesting book about the creative process, and how are can change a person, and drive them to achieve things they never thought possible.