Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll - Softcover

Dolan, Marc

Softcover

ISBN 10: 039334584X ISBN 13: 9780393345841

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013

Synopsis

A vibrant biography of one of the greatest rock 'n' rollers, the America that made him, and the America he made.

This smart, incisive biography traces Bruce Springsteen’s evolution from a young artist who wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to an acclaimed musician with a distinctive vision for a better society. Brilliantly analyzing and evoking Springsteen’s output, Marc Dolan unveils the pulsing heart of his music: its deep personal, political, and cultural resonances, which enabled Springsteen to reflect on his experiences as well as the world around him. The book is now updated with a new chapter on The Promise, Wrecking Ball, and the 2012 tour.

About this title

About the Author:

Marc Dolan is a professor at John Jay College and the City University of New York, where he teaches English, American studies, and film. A New Jersey native, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Review:

[Dolan s] approach is at once academic and unapologetically enthusiastic. Classic songs and albums are deconstructed at length, along with their back stories and reception. Springsteen's personal evolution is measured in similar depth, from his tense relationship with his working-class father to the political consciousness reflected in his work, and how it's been variously interpreted (and misconstrued).... Devotees will delight in Dolan's account of the superstar's salad days playing Jersey clubs. (3 out of 4 stars) --Elysa Gardner

Readable and engrossing.

This intelligent examination of the career of Bruce Springsteen traces the rock icon's ability to balance two disparate identities.... An intelligent fan book written by a sophisticated admirer. --Darryl Lorenzo

Marc Dolan's Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll is more than pulp for fans: It provides both social and political context to the songs and albums in the Jersey boy's canon.

A well-researched, comprehensive analysis of Springsteen's life and work to date, with an emphasis on the music.

Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll endeavors to get to the heart of its subject by viewing him through the economic, social, political, religious and family turmoil that formed a musician who found out early on how to make his guitar talk but spent painful decades refining what he needed to make it say. Springsteen's creative evolution and endurance as a populist American rock 'n' roll hero is, according to Dolan, "a slantwise way of telling the history of our times, how we have come together and divided over the last half-century, how we have changed what we think of ourselves as a people." --Robin Finn

A riveting profile of New Jersey's great bard. Dolan, the ultimate Springsteen fan, has an encyclopedic knowledge of his subject. And his infectious love of American popular music is nothing short of awesome. The best book on Bruce ever written! --Douglas Brinkley, author of "Cronkite"

[Dolan's] approach is at once academic and unapologetically enthusiastic. Classic songs and albums are deconstructed at length, along with their back stories and reception. Springsteen's personal evolution is measured in similar depth, from his tense relationship with his working-class father to the political consciousness reflected in his work, and how it's been variously interpreted (and misconstrued).... Devotees will delight in Dolan's account of the superstar's salad days playing Jersey clubs. (3 out of 4 stars) --Elysa Gardner

A unique biography of a great rock 'n roll artist drawn from 40 years of thrilling performances. If you're a Springsteen fan, this will deepen your appreciation. And if you're not a fan, what the hell is wrong with you? --William McKeen, author of "Rock 'n Roll is Here to Stay: An Anthology"

A riveting profile of New Jersey s great bard. Dolan, the ultimate Springsteen fan, has an encyclopedic knowledge of his subject. And his infectious love of American popular music is nothing short of awesome. The best book on Bruce ever written! --Douglas Brinkley, author of Cronkite"

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 039334584X
• ISBN 13: 9780393345841
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560