a solid comprehensive biography of Springsteen, the author's voice is that of a fan, somewhat critical but mostly admiring

some good insights ( )

Well researched and a nice companion piece to the more authoritative (and Bruce-approved, warts and all) bio by Peter Ames Carlin. Most impressively, I was reminded that artists are guided and driven by the collective histories that haunt them, and the desire to continually attain and prove something - be it to someone else or themselves. Bruce is a restless spirit, always looking for a way to express something as perfectly as possible. Dolan captures that essence here and we see the how often the creative peaks and valleys coincided with the personal ones, and how - at times - it was the very longing for something Bruce didn't have that served as the pressure to create diamonds. The desire to break through as an artist, to break away from the legalities of the industry, the desire to settle down and have a home and a wife, the desire to be a father, the desire to be able to not run from intimacy, and to serve the global community in some meaningful way. All of these serve as mile markers in his career, and Dolan singles them out well.

I've come away from this book and Carlin's biography feeling like I understand Springsteen much better, and if you are a fan (and I know plenty of you are decidedly not), you'll appreciate the insight here that illuminates not only the creative process, but the personal journey that fans have been invited to travel along on, not always aware of the impetus, but always eager to hear the sonic results. ( )