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Miracle and Wonder cover art

Miracle and Wonder

By: Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, Paul Simon
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Summary

*For a more up-to-date version check out Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon (Special Edition)

What happens when Paul Simon, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in music history, and Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author, sit down together, with a tape recorder and a guitar?

Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon is part memoir, part investigation, and unlike any creative portrait you’ve ever heard before. Recorded over a series of 30 hours of conversation between Simon, Gladwell, and Gladwell’s oldest friend and co-writer, journalist and Broken Record podcast co-host Bruce Headlam, the conversation flows from Simon’s music, to his childhood in Queens, NY, to his frequent collaborators including Art Garfunkel and the nature of creativity itself. Gladwell and Headlam traveled from the mountains of Hawaii to Simon’s own backyard studio to record an artist they’ve idolized since childhood.

Woven throughout the audiobook is distinctive commentary about Simon’s songwriting alongside archival audio footage and never-before-heard live studio versions and original recordings of beloved hits including “The Boxer", “The Sound of Silence", and “Graceland”. Between conversations, Gladwell deploys his signature blend of historical research and social science in an attempt to understand how a boy from 1940s Queens conjured near-perfect songs over an incredible 65-year career. Along the way, he gathers reflections on Simon’s particular genius from the likes of Sting, Herbie Hancock, Renee Fleming, Jeff Tweedy, Aaron Lindsey, and Roseanne Cash.

The result is an intimate audio biography of one of America’s most popular songwriters. Brimming with music and conversation, Miracle and Wonder is a window into Simon’s legendary career, what it means to be alive as an artist, and how to create work that endures.

©2021 Pushkin Industries and Paul Simon (P)2021 Pushkin Industries and Paul Simon

What listeners say about Miracle and Wonder

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More than a pocket full of mumbles

Paul Simon's life and career is already well chronicled though Marc Elliot's exhaustive biography (A Life, 2010) and Robert Hilburn's dry and factual biography (The Life, 2018) so you could well question whether the world needs another.
Malcolm Gladwell is know for his best selling pop social science books which are both engaging and entertaining. Gladwell states at the beginning of this remarkable extended podcast that he is not interested in re-telling the story of the Jewish boy from Queens who made good but was more interested in getting to know Paul Simon and understanding his creative process. He did this through a series of meetings (9 in all around, 5 hours each) which he recorded and what we have here is an edited version of the discussions during which Paul Simon discusses his life and career as if he talking to a friend.
We learn how Simon's cultural identity influences but does not define his work and, most interesting of all, how he approaches the creative process. Simon's enthusiasm is infectious, as is his dedication to pushing boundaries exploring different musical traditions. He is highly self critical and strives for perfection (The Boxer took over 100 hours of studio time to record) and Simon comes over as someone who has an exacting ear and a discerning taste. We hear snippets of songs throughout this podcast style recording and this will be fascinating for anyone interested in music.

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5 people found this helpful

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A chat with a Genius I'll be listening to it again

The ONLY thing wrong with this is that it's far too short. Another few years longer would be just right.
Brilliant stuff 🙂

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4 people found this helpful

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Not a Paul Simon fan beforehand. I am one now.

I didn't know much about Paul Simon prior to this. I knew some of his songs and they are great but I was paying attention to other artists. After hearing this audiobook, which I devoured in a 3 days, I am now a huge fan of the man and his music. What a wonderful artistic and human journey. So inspiring as I am a Composer, Producer and Musician myself.

Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam deserve a lot of praise for the way that they interacted with, interviewed and drew answers from Paul Simon. Malcolm Gladwell in particular. I've already started evangelising about this book and will recommend it far and wide. Bravo!

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Beautiful

I have seen Paul in concert many times and would give anything to sit and talk to him and tell him how much his work means to me. Malcolm Gladwell has done the next best thing and produced a beautiful celebration of Paul’s work.
This is a must for Paul Simon fans and fans of the human spirit. I would still love to meet the great man and tell him how much his work means to me but in that unlikely event I’ll take Mr Gladwell’s conversations. Thank you. .

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Let Paul Simon speak!!

Decent enough, would be good if Malcolm Gladwell would tone it down and let Paul Simon tell some stories. This book is 75% Malcolm Gladwell talking rubbish and 25% Paul Simon.

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1 person found this helpful

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Goosebumps and tears - an emotional journey like no other

Is this the best audio book ever? For me, a diehard fan of Paul Simon, it certainly was.
A fascinating musical journey through his inner workings, his style, his genius mind, and the origination of songs and albums that are part of every music lover’s repertoire. Words can’t possibly do justice. I will listen to it dozens of times, that’s for sure.
Kudos also to Malcolm and Bruce for extracting this from Paul Simon, and for adding a mature, thoughtful and insightful perspective of their own.
If you only ever listen to one audio book, this should be it.

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Wonderful insight

I really enjoyed the discussions about songs I have grown to love, and the creative processes that created them .

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Like a whole new art form

This & the Bono book redefine the medium and create a new genre of music telling.

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Brilliant

An amazing audiobook. Relaxed conversations and analysis of selected songs/albums from the man himself with snippets of PS singing songs with just his guitar for accompaniment. For all the PS fans this is a gem and demonstrates the beauty and entertainment of the audio book. Definitely a must to have.

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simply outstanding

Utterly brilliant, start to finish. As a long-time Paul Simon fan I didn't expect to learn much that was new, but this was packed full of unexpected insights into his approach, his inspirations, his lyrics, and his music. Wonderful

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