Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen

Harde, Roxanne/ Streight, Irwin

ISBN 10: 0739145355 / ISBN 13: 9780739145357

Published by Lexington Books, 2010

About this Item

290 pages. 9.06x6.14x1.10 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-0739145355

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0739145355
• ISBN 13: 9780739145357
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.64 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen, edited by Roxanne Harde and Irwin Streight, draws together close readings of Bruce Springsteen's lyrics by scholars across a range of academic disciplines. The editors first make a compelling comparison between Bruce Springsteen and William Shakespeare, carefully building the argument that both men offer profound insight into the hungry human heart. Springsteen, they argue, uses many Shakespearean themes such as the ties of blood and friendship, commitment to country and community, the monsters of lust and jealousy, vanity and power, and the hopeful pursuit of real love. These themes lift his music beyond stories of characters casing the Promised Land of America to universal matters of the heart's truth wherever it is found. Then, the twelve chapters of Reading the Boss, written by established and emerging scholars, engage readers both critically and enthusiastically with central issues in Bruce Springsteen's writing, as they read his explorations of gender, place, religion, philosophy, and other literary texts, notably the works of Walker Percy and Flannery O'Connor. Driven by arguments grounded in a wide variety of theoretical and critical positions, these essays offer a comprehensive and accessible discussion of Springsteen's oeuvre, from Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. to Working on a Dream that will appeal to both specialist readers and Springsteen fans alike.

About the Author

Kenneth Womack is one of the world's foremost writers and thinkers about the Beatles and Professor of English and Popular Music at Monmouth University, USA. He is the author of Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans (2023), John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life (2020), Solid State: The Story of “Abbey Road” and the End of the Beatles (2019), and several other books on the Beatles. He serves as the music culture critic for Salon and has contributed to a host of print and web outlets, including Slate, Billboard, Time, Variety, USA Today, The Guardian, Smithsonian Magazine, The Independent, and NBC News.