A few days later, Bob Dylan's amazing review and his handwritten preface for Harry Potter arrived at the Golden Dawn Publishing Group. The company president, Ms. Hassan, immediately called a big meeting.
"Boss, is this... is this for real?" a middle-aged man in the meeting asked, his voice shaking a little.
"Of course, it's true," Ms. Hassan said, looking around at her excited team. "The preface for Harry Potter was written by Bob Dylan himself."
The room exploded with whispers! Everyone was completely surprised, but mostly, they were thrilled!
"My God... the Bob Dylan!"
"Yes! He's so low-key. He hardly ever gives interviews."
"The last time he wrote a preface for another writer's book was 10 years ago! We're so lucky!"
Ms. Hassan just smiled. "Lucky? It really is."
She knew Bob Dylan was a very special (and stubborn) old man. He didn't care if you were a president or a king. If he was unhappy, he would show it.
One time, he was invited to the White House. The President, like a happy fan, walked up to shake his hand. Bob Dylan just said, "I can't shake your hand today, because I'll be using these hands to paint later." He said this... to the President!
Another time, the President invited him to sing at the White House. Bob Dylan didn't even show up for rehearsal! And he wasn't interested in taking a photo with the President and his wife, either.
The President just laughed and said, "If he did anything else, then he wouldn't be Bob Dylan."
When people watch the movie Forrest Gump, they all love that song, "Blowin' in the Wind." "How many times must a man look up... before he can see the sky?" That beautiful, powerful song was written by Bob Dylan when he was just a young man.
If Michael Jackson was the king of pop music, then Bob Dylan was a cultural symbol of America.
And now, he had personally written the introduction for Harry Potter. How could the publishing team not be shocked?
...
In fact, when the news got out, the whole country was shocked!
"God! It's actually Bob Dylan!" a young girl exclaimed, holding the newspaper.
How could she not know Bob Dylan? In America, since 1981, they had put Bob Dylan's writing in their school textbooks!
This was a huge deal.
On this day, kids in elementary school, middle school, and even college all saw the news about Harry Potter.
"What kind of story is Harry Potter that Bob Dylan would write a preface for it?"
"Exactly! You know how many writers wish Dylan would do that for them?"
"I have to say, I'm suddenly really interested in this Harry Potter book."
"Me too."
"We should buy it, then! If Dylan loves it, it must be good."
...
At Apple...
CEO Steve Jobs, who was a huge fan of Bob Dylan, was reading the newspaper, his eyes wide.
"Hmph!" he grumbled. "Zane Blackwood... that... that kid. He actually got Dylan to write a preface for his book?!"
He was a little jealous.
Jobs loved Dylan so much that he had invited him to a big party, but Dylan had ignored him. It had made Jobs very sad.
"Harry Potter, is it?" Jobs murmured, his interest sparked.
...
At the Viacom Group...
Summer Redstone, the 75-year-old boss of Paramount Pictures, was also a big Bob Dylan fan.
"Who says I'm old?" he would often say. "I listen to Bob Dylan's rock music every day! His singing tells me I'll always be 30 years old... no, an 18-year-old great guy!"
Mr. Redstone put down the newspaper and immediately picked up his office phone.
"Ms. Sherry Lansing," he said, "I want you to look into that Harry Potter book. Yes, that's right. The preface was written by Bob Dylan himself. I want to know all about it."
...
Bob Dylan was a true American icon. As soon as his name was attached, everyone in America was stirred up. He had that kind of power.
Zane and Ms. Hassan felt so lucky. Bob Dylan's help was a powerful boost, especially for getting the book in front of students and all the "upper-class" families.
Of course, Zane didn't stop there.
His two big TV networks, UPN and WB, were also advertising Harry Potter like crazy.
On "America's Got Talent," you couldn't miss it. The Harry Potter books were stacked up right in front of the four judges. Even the host, Will Smith, was promoting it!
"You're asking me what's the deal with Harry Potter?" Will said to the camera with a big, excited smile. "Then I can tell you all, it's a very, very, very good fantasy story!"
"You see these dark circles under my eyes?" he joked. "I was up all night last night reading it. I just love it!"
Hearing a huge star like Will Smith say that made everyone at home want to read it.
The ads were everywhere. It was almost too much.
"Darn it!" one viewer complained. "To promote this one book, they are really going all out! They're driving me crazy with all these ads!"
...
Time flew by...
August 3rd.
On this day, the first book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was officially released for sale in the United States.
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