Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Springsteen’s Biography
2 Springsteen and Politics
Teaching with Springsteen
Essay 1. Teaching Politics (and More) with Bruce Springsteen
Springsteen and Patriotism
Essay 2. “Born in the U.S.A.” and Patriotism
Essay 3. “But Was It Right?”
Studying Springsteen
Essay 4. Image and Reality: A Review of Springsteen’s Autobiography Born to Run
Essay 5. A Note on the State of Springsteen Scholarship
Springsteen, Class, and Depression
Essay 6. Springsteen and Depression
Essay 7. Straddling Class and Demons
Essay 8. “Used Cars” and the Hidden Injuries of Class
Essay 9. Wrecking Ball and Class Warfare?
Essay 10. Why I Am a Democratic Socialist and Springsteen Isn’t—Yet
Springsteen and Race
Essay 11. Racism and “American Skin (41 Shots)”
Conclusion: Springsteen and Politics
3 Springsteen, Love, and Relationships
Essay 12. A Fitzgerald/Springsteen Pastiche: “Gatsby” Down the Jersey Shore
Springsteen, Fathers, and Sons
Essay 13. Springsteen to Springsteen: Speaking of Love
Essay 14. Flying
Essay 15. Pakistani Son, Pakistani Father: An Updated Review
of Sarfraz Manzoor’s Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion,
and Rock ’n’ Roll
Compassion and Understanding in Love (and Even in Politics)
Essay 16. “Scumbag Bobby” and Springsteen’s “Spare Parts”
Essay 17. The Nixon in All of Us
Springsteen and Tunnel of Love
Essay 18. Springsteen on Relationships in Tunnel of Love
Essay 19. Bravery and Honesty in Patti Scialfa’s Rumble Doll Album
The Sacred and the Profane
Essay 20. The Sacred and the Profane: Springsteen, Caravaggio, “Earth Angel,” and “Reno”
Essay 21. The Sacred and the Profane? The Love of a Daughter and George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words”
Essay 22. The Good News according to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Essay 23. Springsteen and Apocalypse Sex
Conclusion: Springsteen and Love
4 Springsteen, Synchronization, Sports, and Masculinity
“Glory Days”
Essay 24. Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and Synchronization
Essay 25. Synchronizing with Springsteen
Essay 26. “Glory Days” and Uncle Phil
Two More “Boring Stories” of “Glory Days”
Essay 27. Replay
Essay 28. The Stuff of Life
Springsteen and Fatherhood
Essay 29. Fatherhood: From a Different Perspective
The Traditional Model of Masculinity
Essay 30. The Traditional Model of Masculinity and Me
Essay 31. Bruce Springsteen and the Traditional Model of Masculinity
Grandpa Bruce?
Essay 32. Man to Man in Maine
Conclusion: Springsteen, Sports, and Masculinity
5 Loose Ends
Essay 33. Why Write? Some Answers Provided by Bruce Springsteen, Roger Rosenblatt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Alexander Hamilton
Essay 34. Concluding Statement
References
Index