Born to Run

Bruce Springsteen is an American icon and this book, his own story in his own words, lays bare the man behind the songs. Bruce knows how to write and the pages are filled with the kind of imagery that fills his lyrics, but at the service of telling his own truth, not that of one of his characters.

Springsteen's songs can be open to misinterpretation (certainly by those who fails to listen to the lyrics) but they are always honest and that is a quality that runs throughout this book. From hard working class beginnings in Jersey, Springsteen reveals a man driven to write, play, sing and perform. A man bitten by the rock ‘n' roll bug who sought to emulate his heroes: Dylan, Hendrix, The Stones, The Beatles, and in the process created the last great Rock ‘n' Roll band - The E Street Band.

He speaks openly of his emotionally distant father (subject and subtext of many of his songs) and, most surprising and revealing, his own battles with depression and emotional unavailability. This was a side of Springsteen I knew nothing about, but he talks about it with great candour. Therapy and medication, as well as the love of a good woman and a stable family life, have helped him through.

The first half of the book are the most fascinating, as Springsteen finds his music, what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. The creation of his band, the legal battles with his first manager and his growing confidence as an artist until the commercial breakthrough of Born in The USA propels him into the superstar stratosphere, it's all told with honesty and humour.

Springsteen the man isn't without faults and was no stranger to the “rock ‘n' roll” lifestyle, but his uptight, buttoned down nature saved him from the worst excesses. To him the music came first and foremost, but that brought its own problems.

Springsteen gives great insight into his thought processes with regard to songwriting, the shifts in focus as the years progress, the striving for a voice to reflect the lives of his fans, the blue-collar, working classes that America was built on.

The latter half of the book, once he's a settled family man does descend into a few chapters of album - tour - album - tour, but then come the losses: his father; E Street keyboard player Danny Federici and, of course, the Big Man himself, Clarence Clemons. Springsteen is 67. It's an inevitable part of life that his peers start vanishing. These episodes are movingly told, full of love for the departed.

This is one of the great rock autobiographies and the seven years it took to write have paid off handsomely. The story isn't over, of course. Springsteen continues to make music and tour and looks like he will well into his 70s. But for now, this will do nicely.