Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen

by Jonathan D. Cohen (Editor), June Skinner Sawyers (Editor), Natalie Adler (Contribution by), Eric Alterman (Contribution by), Regina Barreca (Contribution by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781978805262
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	09/23/2019
Edition description:	None
Pages:	270
Sales rank:	458,675
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

About the Author

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.
 

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why Springsteen? Jonathan D. Cohen June Skinner Sawyers 1

Part I Springsteen Stories

1 Growing Up with Bruce Springsteen: A Fan's Notes Eric Alterman 11

2 How Bruce Springsteen Made a Middle-Aged Woman Believe in the Magic of Rock and Roll Nancy S. Bishop 30

3 From the Backstreets to the Badlands: My Springsteen Journey Deepa Iyer 36

4 The Ripple Effect Frank Stefanko 44

Part II Springsteen, Politics, and American Society

5 The Role of the Popular Artist in a Democratic Society Jefferson Cowie Joel Dinerstein 49

6 Starting a Fire: Bruce Springsteen's Political Journey from "Born in the U.S.A." to "American Skin (41 Shots)" Gillian G. Gaar 60

7 Springsteen's American Dream Louis P. Masur 66

8 At the River Paul Muldoon 73

9 The Ties That Bind A. O. Scott 74

Part III Springsteen Live

10 Live at the Roxy Greil Marcus 81

11 The Magic Circle Wesley Stace 86

12 Twist and Shout David L. Ulin 90

Part IV Springsteen the Artist

13 Brilliant Disguise: The Completely True Fictional Adventures of Bruce Springsteen Peter Ames Carlin 105

14 "The Welsh Springsteen": An Interview with Martyn Joseph Irwin H. Streight 119

15 This Train: Bruce Springsteen as Public Artist Colleen J. Sheehy 128

16 Born to Write: Bruce Springsteen, Flannery O'Connor, and the Songstory Irwin H. Streight 135

17 Ten Great Springsteen Moments (and Five Iconic Concerts) Kenneth Womack 143

Part V Springsteen, Sex, Race, and Gender

18 Our Butch Mother, Bruce Springsteen Natalie Adler 155

19 Springsteen's Women: Tougher Than the Rest Gina Barreca 163

20 Shackled and Drawn Lauren Onkey 170

21 American Skin: Springsteen and Blackness Elijah Wald 176

Part VI Springsteen and Aging

22 Summer's Fall: Springsteen in Senescence Jim Cullen 189

23 Work and Play: Midlife Music Daniel Wolff 200

Part VII Springsteen beyond Borders

24 Bruce Springsteen's River in Dublin Dermot Bolger 209

25 The Boss in Bulgaria Richard Russo 217

26 We Take Care of Our Own Wayne Swan 227

Acknowledgments 235

About the Editors 239

About the Contributors 241

Index 249

Editorial Reviews

"Relatable passages and...excellent writing."

Newark Star-Ledger

"Growing Up With Bruce Springsteen: I wouldn’t be the man I am without him," by Eric Alterman
http://www.publicseminar.org/essays/growing-up-with-bruce-springsteen/

Public Seminar

"E Street Radio" SiriusXM interview with contributors Daniel Wolff Lauren Onkey

E Street Radio - SiriusXM

"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 & Courier

"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."

co-editor of Walking the Line: Country Music Lyricists and American Culture - Roxanne Harde

"Dermot Bolger: 'As Bruce turns 70, I thank him for giving voice to my world,'" excerpt from Long Walk Home
https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/dermot-bolger-as-bruce-turns-70-i-thank-him-for-giving-voice-to-my-world-38496573.html

Irish Independent

"The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen And The Wide Divide," excerpted from A.O. Scott's piece in Long Walk Home
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/762803629/the-ties-that-bind-bruce-springsteen-and-the-wide-divide

NPR Books

"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 of Backstreets.com

Contributor Lou Maser interview on "One-on-One with Steve Adubato"
http://steveadubato.org/bruce-springsteen-s-impact-on-music-history.html

One-on-One with Steve Adubato

"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

"Springsteen at Seventy," by Wesley Stace
https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/09/21/springsteen-at-seventy/

New York Review of Books

"Why Bruce Springsteen is the soundtrack of the 2020 primary," by Jonathan D. Cohen
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/09/23/why-bruce-springsteen-is-soundtrack-primary/

Washington Post

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.

author of Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles - Kenneth Womack

"Celebrating Bruce at 70," by Tammy La Gorce

New Jersey Monthly

"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 Atlantic

"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."

BOSS: The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies - Prudence Jones

"Local Leaders Never Stop Reading" by Amanda Capps
http://www.greenvillebusinessmag.com/2020/03/05/299879/local-leaders-never-stop-reading

Greenville Business Magazine

"Springsteen at 70: Remembering When The Boss Rocked New Brunswick" by TAP into New Brunswick
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/east-brunswick/articles/springsteen-at-70-remembering-when-the-boss-rocked-new-brunswick-8

TAP into New Brunswick

"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

"Rutgers Professor Reflects on Springsteen's Legacy ahead of ''The Boss's'' 70th Birthday," by Cynthia Medina
https://news.rutgers.edu/qa/rutgers-professor-reflects-springsteens-legacy-ahead-bosss-70th-birthday/20190730#.XVavqehKiUm

Rutgers Today

"Rutgers Univ. Press to celebrate Springsteen’s birthday with ‘Long Walk Home’ book," by Jay Lustig

NJ Arts

"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

"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

"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."

Editor of Backstreets.com - Christopher Phillips

"Why Bruce Springsteen is the soundtrack of the 2020 primary," by Jonathan D. Cohen
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/09/23/why-bruce-springsteen-is-soundtrack-primary/

Washington Post

"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

★ 08/01/2019

This compilation of heartfelt essays is a moving tribute to musician Bruce Springsteen, who over the past five decades has spoken to and for generations of people from many walks of life. From rousing political anthems to angst-driven love songs, his writing is his most enduring legacy. An eclectic group of contributors, including critic Gillian Gaar and novelist Richard Russo, weigh in on an array of topics, such as race and gender, live performances, and personal trials. Editors Cohen (managing editor, BOSS: The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies) and Sawyers (Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader) have deftly organized this work. No matter how simple or poetic the prose, the authors convey a deep appreciation for Springsteen and the songs that comforted or inspired their creation. Many readers will identify with these stories and may see their own experiences reflected here. VERDICT This powerful exploration of the impact of Springsteen's writing demonstrates why his music continues to resonate.—Julie Whiteley, Stephenville, TX

Library Journal