BRUCE (Touchstone)
by Peter Ames Carlin
Among the many books dissecting the life of Bruce Springsteen, this one stands apart, thanks to the unprecedented access that author Peter Ames Carlin had to the rock star’s family, friends, bandmates (past and present), business associates and the Boss himself. Fans will enjoy the detailed description of Springsteen’s formative years in Freehold as he struggles with shyness and a dysfunctional family. We follow as he learns his first guitar chords and joins his first band, then evolves from garage rocker to formidable frontman and songwriter. The book recreates the fateful meetings between Springsteen and the musicians who would soar with him to stardom, and with the many women who floated in and out of his life pre-Patti Scialfa (although Carlin spares us the salacious details of those encounters). Carlin’s telling takes us right up to the death of Clarence Clemons and the preparations for the Wrecking Ball tour. Throughout, he finds the perfect tone, never preachy or fawning or overly analytical, but always strong on details and the remarkable recollections of those who witnessed it all.