Born to Run
Written by Bruce Springsteen
Narrated by Bruce Springsteen
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life. The result is “an utterly unique, endlessly exhilarating, last-chance-power-drive of a memoir” (Rolling Stone) that offers the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs.
He describes growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, amid the poetry, danger, and darkness that fueled his imagination, leading up to the moment he refers to as “The Big Bang”: seeing Elvis Presley’s debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. He vividly recounts his relentless drive to become a musician, his early days as a bar band king in Asbury Park, and the rise of the E Street Band. With disarming candor, he also tells for the first time the story of the personal struggles that inspired his best work.
Rarely has a performer told his own story with such force and sweep. Like many of his songs (“Thunder Road,” “Badlands,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “The River” “Born in the U.S.A,” “The Rising,” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” to name just a few), Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography is written with the lyricism of a singular songwriter and the wisdom of a man who has thought deeply about his experiences.
“Both an entertaining account of Springsteen’s marathon race to the top and a reminder that the one thing you can’t run away from is yourself” (Entertainment Weekly), Born to Run is much more than a legendary rock star’s memoir. This book is a “a virtuoso performance, the 508-page equivalent to one of Springsteen and the E Street Band's famous four-hour concerts: Nothing is left onstage, and diehard fans and first-timers alike depart for home sated and yet somehow already aching for more” (NPR).
Editor's Note
The Boss is back…
Bruce Springsteen’s memoir is written with his characteristic lyricism and honesty. “Born to Run” is as much about an American rock star as about America itself.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the New Jersey Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of twenty Grammy Awards, the Academy Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors. He lives in New Jersey with his family. His latest work, together with Barack Obama, is Renegades: Born in the USA, a candid and entertaining collection of conversations that expand on their groundbreaking Higher Ground podcast.
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Reviews for Born to Run
564 ratings63 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bruce's memoir reads like poetry, feels like a well worn pair of jeans. He goes from his childhood filled with love, support, his father's crippling mental illness and unfathomable poverty to his rise to becoming an American icon. His fans will hear his voice as they read, knowing many of the stories from his concerts. He displays incredible humility but understands why he got where he is. His love for family and his appreciation for his fans comes through. Great story describing his unimaginable rise to superstardom. Must read for fans and anyone who enjoys a story of hard work leading to success.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is amazing! It ranks among the best books I've ever read. And to have it read aloud by The Boss himself makes it even more special. I can highly recommend it.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I've had this book since it was published, but didn't get around to reading it until after I saw Springsteen's "On Broadway" Netflix Special. I would have liked more insight into his songwriting process, but that clearly isn't the book he wanted to write. What is here is faultless. Possibly the best rock autobiography I've read. Recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best always The Boss well narrated with heart.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was perfect. Thank you Bruce. Always great company. Sensational.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I live in Jersey but I wasn’t a Springsteen fan until I heard him read his fascinating life story in the book “Born to Run.” What poetry, what insight, what a triumph! God bless you , Bruce!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What an amazing life The Boss has led, I found his writing to be profound, sad and joyful at the same time. The last chapters has me crying.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm not sure how it would compare to having read the book, but the audiobook format for this biography made for an amazing, intimate, and riveting experience. it feels like having taken a cross country trip with Springsteen where he tells you all about his life. Try the first chapter and see if it doesn't get you hooked.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loved the words & the way Springfield uses them. He draws a picture & give an emotion for each paragraph. So glad I listened to the audio. His voice was great telling his story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bruce Springsteen is an incredible storyteller. His songs are stories about our Americana. He admits that he's never worked (as we know it) a day in his life but he sure has observed it and told it.
I will listen to this book again and I will tell about it. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was heartwarming, down to earth, loved hearing about the beginning of his career. It’s worth a listen!!!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have been a life long fan and it was such a gift to listen to Bruce’s story told in his own voice. He is a natural story teller and his candor in sharing “the good, the bad and sometimes not so pretty” aspects of his life made this literary experience very real. I didn’t think it possible, but I’m an even greater fan now after listening to this book. Bruce is a talented wordsmith.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I appreciate the honesty with which Bruce described his journey, struggles, and successes. I've enjoyed his music all my life, but now that I know the back story... how it all happened, my respect for him as a human being has grown exponentially. Thank you, Bruce.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Its interesting :) .
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This a gift from Bruce to his fans. He lays it all out as best he can and gives us great insights into the life experiences that made him who he is and into his creative process that demands a lot of himself and those around him. A joy to listen to!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I did NOT want this to end. I feel like a part of me is leaving. What an incredible person.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5great book. who doesn't love the BOSS. Such a unique background that gave this diminutive guy with a guitar on his back and a hand full of songs to become one of the most popular people on this planet. he is America's David Bowie. I highly recommend this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best musician autobiographies I've listened to or read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Awesome and insightful audiobook, kept me company in my forge.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was read by Himself and that is always better, I really enjoyed listening to his story
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing insight into one of our generation's great musical minds
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book, Bruce's narration makes it that much better. Recommended.
He seems to have been coherent every waking moment of his life. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I feel like i got to know him better. Thanks
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good but a better song writer. Interesting though didn't make me warm to him as an individual. Get the feeling Patti's put up with a lot!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let me throw out two things, right off the top. The first is, I am, at best, a very, very mild Springsteen fan, at best, and personally, I haven't had much interest in anything of his since Tunnel of Love. The second is, I goddamned loved this book.
There's a whole bunch of reasons for that.
The first is—and let's be real, it's a well-known fact that most famous people's biographies are ghostwritten by someone with some talent, not the famous person—but this book was stunningly well-written. If it was a ghostwritten, then bravo to that nameless soul. But, this is one I could see Bruce taking on himself. Either way, the level of craftmanship with the actual writing is way, way up there.
Second is the actual subject matter. I tend to groan when I start a biography, simply because I know I'll have to suffer through the subject's childhood and awkward adolescence, blah blah blah. With this one, I was flat out riveted from the first page, and wanted to hear more and more about ten-year-old Bruce's life. Yeah, it's that good.
Now, that's not to say that it's perfect when it comes to covering everything in Bruce's life. He tends to stick directly to himself, where I would have loved to have heard his thoughts on things like Manfred Mann's two big covers from his first album. He covered Spirits in the Night and, even bigger, the phenomenal Blinded By The Light. Nothing. He also never mentions Patti Scialfa's album. His own wife? Come on!
There are also times where you can actually feel him tiptoeing around some dicey topics involving his E Street Band members, and some other personalities, but I get that he's also not out to burn anyone.
Third, while still somewhat on the topic of subject matter, I'm impressed that he's both honest and open about his and his family's mental illness issues, and that he didn't write a "I fucked this person, then I fucked that person, then I played this concert..." He's much more inward-looking, introspective. I love that.
Fourth, he gives you lots of insight into the writing of certain key songs and albums, which I'm always fascinated in. Though, surprisingly, he also completely skips over some albums, not even mentioning Lucky Town, Human Touch, or Devils & Dust.
In the end, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this long book from the very first, to the very last page. Very likely the best biography I've ever read. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fascinating account of his life, with great emphasis on his early life and career, and the psychological forces that shaped (sometimes scarred) him. He has clearly worked hard on writing skills and does a good job of conveying the fever and fervor of the rock-n-roll life. On the other hand, I may like him a teeny bit less than I did before seeing him as such a flawed human being. My idol has feet of clay after all! As he wrote "I was all I had. I had only one talent. I was not a natural genius. I would have to use every ounce of what was in me--my cunning, my musical skills, my showmanship, my intellect, my heart, my willingness--night after night, to push myself harder, to work with more intensity than the next guy just to survive untended in the world I lived in."
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I've long enjoyed Bruce Springsteen's music without knowing much about the man. I knew he is a Jersey boy from a working class background, and that's about it. This autobiography gave me insight into both his life and his music.No one sees their own life as outsiders do, but I think Mr. Springsteen was as honest and forthright as he could be. He does come from a working class background, with family he loves, flawed and all. He writes about his father's deep depressions, and his own ongoing fight to live with it, to conquer it. There is a lot about his music, who he played with, disagreements and fights that led to spits, learning to be in the spotlight. Many of the names were not familiar to me, but I enjoyed reading about his relationships even if I wasn't familiar with some of them.He says he has to compensate for his less-than-stellar voice. I disagree with him there. I love the gravelly quality he has. And this book, an audio book for me, was narrated by him and all the better for that. I find it interesting that my favorite memoirs/autobiographies are all about musicians: Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, and Elton John. I thoroughly enjoyed this look at Mr. Springsteen's life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bruce Springsteen's memoir Born to Run is one of the best non-fiction books I have read so far. Springsteen is very open in telling the readers not only about his successes but also about his (perceived?) failures. There is the complicated relationship to his father, there is his struggle with depression and there is him leading the band and keeping them on a short leash. Although Bruce Springsteen is an international superstar, you can still feel in the writing how he had to work hard for his success and still does. As Jon Stewart said in his tribute to Springsteen at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, Springsteen empties the tank everytime, for his family, for his music, for his audience and for his country. The same goes for this book.Just like the lyrics to his songs, Springsteen's writing is always on-point and manages to capture emotions and feelings. The American songbook is richer for the work of Bruce Springsteen. I feel I am richer for reading this book. To my mind, Born to Run is a must read for Springsteen fans and probably everyone else, too. 5 stars.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the best damn autobiography I've ever read or listened to, and I'm not even a Springsteen fan.
I am now, but not because of his music; it's because of his writing- his honesty, his humor, and his work ethic. His battles with depression and mental illness in his family must have been painful for him to admit, but it all rang true to me.
Don't get me wrong-I did have a few issues with him-most especially his reputation as a working man, or a rock and roller that represents the working man-and his not having worked a real job, (other than cutting lawns and carrying groceries to make the money for his second guitar), a day in his life! I guess I feel like he made up for that by doggedly pursuing his dreams and desires.
If you like Bruce Springsteen, or even if you don't, I highly recommend you read this book. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully written and an introspective look at what it means to be an individual, a sum of one's parts, and an American.