In this definitive biography, Paul Simon's glamorous and brilliant life is set against the backdrop of five decades of rock 'n' roll history. New York Times bestselling biographer Marc Eliot draws on extensive research and original interviews to pull back the curtain on one of the world's modern musical masters and cultural icons and shares:

• How a shoe store stockboy rose to the top of the music industry
• How young Paul Simon struggled to emerge from the powerful shadow of his idol, Bob Dylan
• Stories from Paul's inner circle about the creatively brilliant but often troubled partnership with Art Garfunkel
• The first and best chronicle of Paul's early, influential years in London, prior to "The Sound of Silence"
• Paul's women, his marriages, his girfriends, his difficult divorce
• How Paul pushed rock 'n' roll forward by going back to his roots, finding inspiration and redemption in Africa, and creating his masterpiece, Graceland
• The real story of the stormy saga of The Capeman
• Tales of Paul's rock 'n' roll road, from the '50s to the present