Reviews for Born To Run

by Bruce Springsteen

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Whomever critics deem the voice of his or her generation too often eventually fade into the woodwork or struggle to keep pace with the next musical trend. Springsteen has on rare occasion delivered a more pop sound ("Dancing in the Dark") and addressed issues of social justice ("Philadelphia"), but as his autobiography suggests, he has never struggled as have so many artists to maintain relevance and popularity. The Boss's real challenge has been on the personal side, for he, like some in his family, has dealt with depression. Doing a serviceable job at narration, Springsteen delves into his creative process and sheds light on his rise from bar bands to the Super Bowl halftime show. It is an energetic, anthemic ride, worthy of listening to full blast on a thunder road of one's choosing. Verdict Highly recommended. ["A rollicking ride from the glorious and the emotional to the fun and soaring; one of rock's finest and most memorable memoirs": LJ Xpress Reviews 10/28/16 review of the S. & S. hc.]-Kelly Sinclair, Temple P.L., TX © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

For over 40 years, Springsteen has chronicled the lives of myriad American characters as they face life, love, economic hardship, and the search for community and home, and now he limns his own life story to create an exuberant, sprawling, double album of a memoir. Springsteen writes eloquently about his youth, family, and hometown while detailing his complicated relationship with his father and the singer's own quest to reconcile his past and explore the roots and meaning of what he does. Springsteen describes in abundant detail his musical coming of age with various bands, playing the clubs and bars of New Jersey as he finds his own voice, struggles with early success, and eventually records the 1975 masterpiece Born To Run with the E Street Band and reaches superstardom in the 1980s. Springsteen's prose ranges from honest and self-deprecating to poetic and deeply analytical as he writes about his life, his music, his place in the world, and his movingly deep ties to his family, his band, and his audience. Verdict Like a classic Springsteen and E Street Band show, the book takes readers on a rollicking ride from the glorious and the emotional to the fun and soaring; one of rock's finest and most memorable memoirs.-James Collins, Morristown-Morris Twp. P.L., NJ © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* Has anyone in contemporary pop culture pursued the rock 'n' roll life with such determination as Bruce Springsteen? He has said he had no choice since he couldn't do anything else. In this long (but not long enough) and entertaining autobiography, Springsteen begins in his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey, on Randolph Street (my street). This is where he grew up. This is where he learned the ways of the world as filtered through his pessimistic father and optimistic mother and the extended family of people descended mostly from Irish and Italian immigrants and a grandmother who spoiled him with unconditional love. He describes the sounds and smells of his New Jersey home as well as the family's constant struggle to get by (We were pretty poor, though I never thought about it). The dark poetry of Catholicism first kindled his imagination and would serve as a source of imagery for many of his songs. He also shares early memories of his father, sitting along with other men in silence in a smoke-filled bar, his powerful legs, a face slightly discolored and misshapen by alcohol, and always suggesting the possibility of violence. His relationship with his moody father became the topic of many of his songs and in these pages he conjures up images of him with equal amounts of fear, anger, respect, and, ultimately, love. But he makes it clear that his father did not understand the young Bruce: When my dad looked at me, he didn't see what he needed to see. This was my crime. From his gregarious mother he learned what it meant to be truthful, kind, and compassionate, and to have pride in yourself and your work. And from her side of the family, he also learned that he loved to entertain. Springsteen discusses with great honesty his own shortcomings, including his long-held fear of relationships, his passive-aggressiveness, and his capacity for emotional cruelty. Like other family members, a black melancholy hung over him. Bouts of depression occurred numerous times over the decades: first when he was 16 and again shortly after his 60th birthday and, most devastatingly, a few years ago. He also makes light of his singing voice. I have a bar-man's power, range and durability . . . . My voice gets the job done. Much here will be well known to most Springsteen fans, but what makes it different, what makes it stand out, is to read Springsteen's own take on familiar events, whether watching Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show, meeting the iconic E Street sax man Clarence Clemons for the first time (It was a dark and stormy night), or his audition for the legendary John Hammond at Columbia Records. He discusses each album in chronological order, as well as the endless touring. But Born to Run is singular, like its author. Anyone who knows Springsteen's songs will recognize his voice: the cadences, the rhythms all recall his unique songwriting style. It is also full of small and big insights. Like his songs, one sentence can reveal everything you need to know about his upbringing (I never saw a man leave a house in a jacket and tie unless it was Sunday or he was in trouble). Despite his seriousness, Springsteen often acts the clown: goofy, self-deprecating, and humble. The memoir shows this side of his big personality in funny little comments and asides. And so many of his sentences sing, such as when he describes the birth of his youngest child, Sam, as having a moon-round kisser, Irish to the bone. As he grew older, he looked like a Joycean urchin off the streets of Dublin. Through the magic of his songs, and now the wizardry of his prose, Springsteen has healed many a heart by reimagining moments from his own life. I'm a repairman, he writes. That's part of my job. Touching and full of light and shadows, Born to Run will bring tears and laughter to even the most cursory of Springsteen fans.--Sawyers, June Copyright 2016 Booklist