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Long Walk Home
Reflections on Bruce Springsteen
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Edited by:
Jonathan D. Cohen
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With contributions by:
Natalie Adler
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2019
About this book
Bruce Springsteen might be the quintessential American rock musician but his songs have resonated with fans from all walks of life and from all over the world. This unique collection features reflections from a diverse array of writers who explain what Springsteen means to them and describe how they have been moved, shaped, and challenged by his music.
Contributors to Long Walk Home include novelists like Richard Russo, rock critics like Greil Marcus and Gillian Gaar, and other noted Springsteen scholars and fans such as A. O. Scott, Peter Ames Carlin, and Paul Muldoon. They reveal how Springsteen’s albums served as the soundtrack to their lives while also exploring the meaning of his music and the lessons it offers its listeners. The stories in this collection range from the tale of how “Growin’ Up” helped a lonely Indian girl adjust to life in the American South to the saga of a group of young Australians who turned to Born to Run to cope with their country’s 1975 constitutional crisis. These essays examine the big questions at the heart of Springsteen’s music, demonstrating the ways his songs have resonated for millions of listeners for nearly five decades.
Commemorating the Boss’s seventieth birthday, Long Walk Home explores Springsteen’s legacy and provides a stirring set of testimonials that illustrate why his music matters.
Contributors to Long Walk Home include novelists like Richard Russo, rock critics like Greil Marcus and Gillian Gaar, and other noted Springsteen scholars and fans such as A. O. Scott, Peter Ames Carlin, and Paul Muldoon. They reveal how Springsteen’s albums served as the soundtrack to their lives while also exploring the meaning of his music and the lessons it offers its listeners. The stories in this collection range from the tale of how “Growin’ Up” helped a lonely Indian girl adjust to life in the American South to the saga of a group of young Australians who turned to Born to Run to cope with their country’s 1975 constitutional crisis. These essays examine the big questions at the heart of Springsteen’s music, demonstrating the ways his songs have resonated for millions of listeners for nearly five decades.
Commemorating the Boss’s seventieth birthday, Long Walk Home explores Springsteen’s legacy and provides a stirring set of testimonials that illustrate why his music matters.
Author / Editor information
JONATHAN D. COHEN received his PhD in history from the University of Virginia. He is the managing editor of BOSS: The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies and the coeditor of All In: The Spread of Gambling in Twentieth-Century United States (2018).
JUNE SKINNER SAWYERS has published extensively on Bruce Springsteen, including Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader (2004) and Workingman: The Faith-Based Politics ofBruce Springsteen (2014). Born in Glasgow, she currently teaches humanities courses at the Newberry Library in Chicago.
JUNE SKINNER SAWYERS has published extensively on Bruce Springsteen, including Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader (2004) and Workingman: The Faith-Based Politics ofBruce Springsteen (2014). Born in Glasgow, she currently teaches humanities courses at the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Reviews
"Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen did something I wouldn’t have thought possible: it deepened my appreciation for the artist by broadening my understanding of his relevance and influence. I’d long known that Bruce had wide, diverse, international appeal. Now I have a better understanding of why. Highly recommended."
— E Street Shuffle
— TAP into New Brunswick
"Celebrating Bruce at 70," by Tammy La Gorce
— New Jersey Monthly"A killer collection of Boss studies and stories, as varied as Springsteen's own body of work and a fitting tribute to the man — at 70, both an American legend and an artist as vital as ever."
— Christopher Phillips, Editor of Backstreets.com
— New York Review of Books
"In a collection as carefully compiled as a Springsteen album, Cohen and Booklist contributor Sawyers celebrate the Boss at 70....For more than four decades, Springsteen’s music has been part of our popular music and culture and will continue to be, long after his final album is released. As this compilation illustrates, his 'Glory Days' are far from over."
— Booklist
— Greenville Business Magazine
"That’s the greatest joy of Long Walk Home—the little details from fan’s lives, intersecting with moments of historical and artistic significance."
— Third Coast Review"The book nods to Springsteen’s international, intercultural popularity and success....The most thought-provoking essays in Long Walk Home are by writers who are not from the stereotypical Springsteen fan base."
— Times Literary Supplement"Relatable passages and...excellent writing."
— Newark Star-Ledger"Long Walk Home endeavors to examine the impact the art and the artist have had on individual people around the world. The book fulfills this mission admirably. Individual contributions are of uniformly high quality. The collection as a whole is an engaging read that will interest scholars and fans alike."
— One-on-One with Steve Adubato
“Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen at 70 offers a comprehensive, timely overview of Springsteen’s life and work. The eminently qualified essayists in Sawyers and Cohen’s anthology astutely address Springsteen’s achievement in terms of the artist’s evolving legacy, with a valuable accent upon exploring his lasting contributions to twentieth- and twenty-first- century popular music and culture.”
— Kenneth Womack, author of Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles"Taken together, the 26 essays in Long Walk Home give readers a rich understanding of why the Boss matters so profoundly to his audience; how each of us has been moved, challenged, and shaped by Springsteen's music."
— Roxanne Harde, co-editor of Walking the Line: Country Music Lyricists and American Culture"Bruce Springsteen Is Jew-ish: He may be Catholic, but to many fans—including this one—his lyrics speak to a different creed," by Eric Alterman
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/bruce-springsteen-almost-jewish/599146/
— The Atlantichttps://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/bruce-springsteen-almost-jewish/599146/
"E Street Radio" SiriusXM interview with contributors Daniel Wolff Lauren Onkey
— E Street Radio - SiriusXM
— NJ Arts
"The expanding field of Springsteen Studies is fascinating, and includes stellar volumes written by many of the contributors to this collection. Kudos to co-editors Jonathan D. Cohen (managing editor of “'BOSS: The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies') and June Skinner Sawyers (editor of “Racing in the Streets: The Bruce Springsteen Reader”) for giving Springsteen fans an extraordinary new addition to that canon. Long Walk Home is worthy of its subject and a timely reminder of Springsteen’s promise in the 1999 anthem 'Land of Hope and Dreams' that 'dreams will not be thwarted/ faith will be rewarded.'”
— Charleston Post & CourierTopics
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Why Springsteen? Jonathan D. Cohen and June Skinner Sawyers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
1 |
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Part I. Springsteen Stories
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A Fan’s Notes Eric Alterman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
11 |
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Nancy S. Bishop Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
30 |
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My Springsteen Journey Deepa Iyer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
36 |
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Frank Stefanko Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
44 |
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Part II. Springsteen, Politics, and American Society
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Jefferson Cowie and Joel Dinerstein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
49 |
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Bruce Springsteen’s Political Journey from “Born in the U.S.A.” to “American Skin (41 Shots)” Gillian G. Gaar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
60 |
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Louis P. Masur Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
66 |
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Paul Muldoon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
73 |
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A. O. Scott Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
74 |
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Part III. Springsteen Live
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Greil Marcus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
81 |
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Wesley Stace Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
86 |
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David L. Ulin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
90 |
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Part IV. Springsteen the Artist
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The Completely True Fictional Adventures of Bruce Springsteen Peter Ames Carlin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
105 |
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An Interview with Martyn Joseph Irwin H. Streight Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
119 |
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Bruce Springsteen as Public Artist Colleen J. Sheehy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
128 |
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Bruce Springsteen, Flannery O’Connor, and the Songstory Irwin H. Streight Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
135 |
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Kenneth Womack Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
143 |
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Part V. Springsteen, Sex, Race, and Gender
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Natalie Adler Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
155 |
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Tougher Than the Rest Gina Barreca Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
163 |
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Lauren Onkey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
170 |
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Springsteen and Blackness Elijah Wald Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
176 |
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Springsteen in Senescence Jim Cullen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
189 |
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Midlife Music Daniel Wolff Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
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Part VII. Springsteen beyond Borders
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Dermot Bolger Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
209 |
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Richard Russo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
217 |
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Wayne Swan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
227 |
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Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
239 |
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
September 23, 2019
eBook ISBN:
9781978805309
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
270
Other:
7 B-W photographs
eBook ISBN:
9781978805309
Keywords for this book
Bruce Springsteen; the Boss; New Jersey; music; rock music; American rock musician; Richard Russo; Greil Marcus; Gillian Gaar; A.O. Scott; Peter Ames Carlin; Paul Muldoon; American life; American culture; Born to Run; northeastern United States; Bruce Springsteen’s legacy; Bruce Springsteen’s career; popular culture; American history; music fans; Bruce Springsteen fans; guitar; singer; microphone; Long Walk Home book; Springsteen reflections; Springsteen fans; diverse writers; A. O. Scott; Springsteen scholars; Springsteen impact; music influence; life soundtrack; Springsteen essays; cultural significance; Growin' Up song; Born to Run album; Springsteen's legacy; fan testimonials; seventy years; music meaning; musical lessons; worldwide fans; American South; Indian girl story; Australian crisis; constitutional crisis; personal stories; music resonance; musical connection; Springsteen's seventieth birthday; rock critics; novelists; fan experiences; Springsteen's influence; rock music legacy; cultural legacy; music and life; emotional impact; Springsteen's songs; album reflections; music analysis; iconic musician; Springsteen's reach; global influence; fan stories; literary contributions; music commentary; Bruce Springsteen legacy; enduring popularity; fan reflections; musical heritage; music essays; Springsteen's impact on life; reflections collection
Audience(s) for this book
General/trade;
