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

Dolan, Marc

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393081354 ISBN 13: 9780393081350

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012

Synopsis

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

Smart and incisive, this unique book takes us through Bruce Springsteen’s life by tracing the cultural, political, and personal forces that shaped his music. Beyond his constant stylistic adaptations, Springsteen developed over the decades from expressing the voice of a guy from working-class New Jersey to writing about the larger issues facing the country, including war, class disparity, and prejudice. Marc Dolan draws on a range of new and little-known sources―including hundreds of unreleased studio recordings and bootlegs of live performances―making this an indispensable reference for avid Springsteen fans as well as those interested in learning the stories behind his music. Combining political analysis, music history, and colorful storytelling, Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock ’n’ Roll reveals how a gifted, ambitious community college dropout achieved superstardom―and spent decades refining what he wanted his music to say. 25 illustrations

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:

“In an appreciative study that at times verges on the academic, Dolan traces Springsteen’s journey through a song-by-song and album-by-album development...” — Publishers Weekly

“ 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 (New York Times Book Review)

“Readable and engrossing.” — Booklist

“The definitive Springsteen biography/musical analysis, finely written and meticulously researched... by an academic who can write for a popular audience.... For fans, Dolan’s book is a necessary addition to the Springsteen library. For more casual listeners, who often wonder just what the fuss is all about, this volume is a good place to start.” — Michael Riley (Asbury Park Press)

“Dolan makes a point of telling more than just the Boss’ personal history, putting his putting his musical contributions in context with the country’s political state.” — radio.com

“Readable and engrossing.” — Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0393081354
• ISBN 13: 9780393081350
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 528