Color covers of Bruce playing guitar and singing. Inside there are about 75 photos, two-thirds in color. Photos are mainly professional-looking action shots of Bruce and the band onstage (one with him dancing with a fan), and they capture nearly every expression of Bruce's face imaginable. Some photos extend across both pages. Photos include a stunning b&w shot of Clarence in dark suit and cowboy hat, and a full-page color shot of Bruce in knit cap and candy striped scarf. Two page discography of albums and singles in the middle of the book, followed by an alphabetical list of songs with brief notes. Songs also include ones written for Steel Mill and The Bruce Springsteen Band, or given to other musicians. No index. Text of the biographical section is lively, but minimal, probably five full-pages at most.

ISBN: 0-352-31752-3 (paperback) [ Click here for an out-of-print book search, (the original is a different version of this book). ]

Bruce Springsteen by Peter Gambaccini (1979, NY and London: Quick Fox, 127 pp.) [ see also 1985 edition reviewed below ]

Front and back covers of a young smiling Bruce are in color; the nearly 60 pictures inside of Bruce are black and white. Besides band members, photos include other musicians such as Patti Smith, Bob Seger, Robert Gordon, Link Wray, Ronnie Spector, and others such as Jon Landau and Bruce's girlfriend, Karen Darbin. No index. This book reads like a rock and roll magazine article, but it is longer. The narrative covers Bruce's life and career. Gambaccini offers opinions on the songs and spices his account liberally with cited quotes made by Bruce in interviews with other journalists or taken from magazines.

ISBN: 0-8256-3935-2 (paperback) [ See second edition below to buy. ]

Bruce Springsteen: Newly Expanded to Include Exciting Photos and Details from the Born in the U.S.A. Tour! by Peter Gambaccini (1979, 1985, NY Putnam-Perigee Books, 159 pp.) [ see also 1979 edition reviewed above ]

The cover is a color photo of Bruce and Max Weinberg from the BIUSA tour. About ten black and white photos from the 1980 and 1984 tours have been added to the back of the book. This version is the same as the first edition, with Gambaccini's story of Bruce's life continued and his evaluation of songs from the River, Nebraska, and BIUSA albums included in the extra thirty-two pages at the end.

ISBN: 0-399-51150-4 (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ]

Bruce Springsteen: An Independent Story in Words and Pictures by Roger St. Pierre (1985, England: Anabas Publishing Ltd., coffee-table size, 27 pp.)

Cover is portrait of BIUSA period Bruce. Twenty-six color and two black and white photos inside from stock agencies are mostly from the same period and are available in other sources. Two-page chronology. One-page discography of albums, singles, covers by other musicians, compilation albums, and a couple bootlegs. No index. The text is a straightforward tale of Bruce's life/career. It's hard to recommend this book except for those who must have everything. Still one has to give kudos to a biography that mentions Bruce's mother's maiden name (Zerilli), attributes his story-telling ability to his maternal grandfather, and uses Bruce's middle name (Bruce F#8b0000erick Springsteen).

ISBN: 1-85099-010-7 (paperback) [ Check our list of links to buy. ]

Bruce Springsteen: Back in the USA by Marty Monroe (1984, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin:Robus Books, nearly coffee-table sized, 64 pp. mostly of photos).

Over 60 photos, most in color and a full size-foldout poster. Color covers of a beaming Bruce onstage playing guitar. This is the place to check out Bruce's wardrobe from the 1980's—every color and kind of shirt including the Broadway Motors and Town & Country Cycle t-shirts, bandanas, cap, brown fedora, suits, vests, etc. Mostly professional action shots of Bruce and the band onstage during the 1984 BIUSA tour. The photos capture Bruce: with a variety of facial expressions; with Jackson Brown; hugged by Bob Seger, doing duets with Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren, and Clarence Clemons; and Max Weinberg with a Beatles look. Two-page discography of albums and singles and appearances on other musicians' albums. One-page listing how to contact Bruce and addresses for five fanzines: Thunder Road, Backstreets, Candy's Room, Point Blank, and The Fever. No index .The text is two-column introduction, a paragraph about each member of the 1984 E Street band, and a brief chronology consisting of boxed insets covering 1949 (birth), 1956 (Elvis on Ed Sullivan), and each year from 1964-1968, and from 1971-1984. Some of the photos have short captions with more facts or with pithy quotes, e.g., "I'm not into people screaming at me. Once they do that, it's over. I'll go back to playing small clubs." (No sources cited for quotes).

ISBN: 0-88188-325-5 (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ]

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss by Elianne Halversberg (1984, Cresskill, N.J.: Sharon Publications, Inc. 96 pp.)

Color photos on the front and back cover and about 80 black-and-white photos inside. The photos are mostly action shots of Bruce and the band in concert, many of which can be found in other sources. Has a nine-page discography. No index. This is "an unauthorized biography" that begins with the early years before Appel, Hammond and the first record and continues on through the lawsuit and the 1975 cover photos on Time and Newsweek. The book ends during the BIUSA tour period with a paean to Bruce's commitment to meet with fans even in the midst of a rainstorm. This book focuses on details of Bruce's career rather than on interpretations of his song lyrics. The discography includes extras such as contributions to other albums, covers of Springsteen materials, videos, B-sides and bootlegs. Sharon Publication's Starbooks series is dedicated to Hollywood celebrities and major rock stars.

ISBN: 0-451-82109-2 (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ]

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss by Nancy Robison (1985, NY: Modern Publishing, a Division of Unisystems, Inc. pocket size book, 96 pp.)

Color cover and 25 black and white photos inside of Bruce and the band include one of Bruce and wife Julianne sitting in a field, a Born To Run poster on the wall with gold albums, and an ad in front of Tower Records for the Roxy concerts in Los Angeles October 16-19, 1975. Also, Bruce’s high school yearbook photo and a photo of Born to Run sneaker souvenirs. Has 4 page discography of albums and singles. No index. An easy-to-read unauthorized biography that offers no song interpretations, just the story of Bruce's life and career.

ISBN: 0-87449-049-9 (paperback) [ Check our list of links to buy. ]

Springsteen Live: Featuring Photographs of the 1984 Born in the U.S.A. Tour and highlights from the 1978 and 1981 Concert Tours, photographs (about 90% of the book) by Philip Kamin, text (about 10% of the book) by Peter Goddard (1984, NY: Beaufort Books, 128pp).

Contains about 150 photos of Bruce and the band; half in color, half in black and white. Many of the photos of Bruce are action shots in a series of three or four. The BIUSA bandana is ubiquitous, and there are quite a few hat shots as well. No index. Kamin and Goddard have published a series of books on rock stars and groups including the Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Duran Duran and Michael Jackson. Goddard is listed as a music journalist and the rock and jazz critic of the Toronto Star.

ISBN: 0-8253-0170-X (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ]

Springsteen: No Surrender by Kate Lynch (1984, London, NY: Proteus Books, 126pp.)

The cover and ten photos inside are color photos of Bruce, Clarence and the band. There is an additional 50 or so nice black and white photos of Bruce and the band performing. Most photos are full page photos and some extend over two pages. Has a five page discography. No index. The ten chapters are named for song titles that are not in the order they were recorded in, but the narrative in the chapters is chronological. This book covers Bruce's entire life and career up to Born in the USA. The biographical information is standard fare; the author's main emphasis is on the albums and significance of the song lyrics.

ISBN 0-86276-253-7 (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ][ Click for an out-of-print book search, hardback original. ]

Springsteen: Visions of America by Adam Sweeting (1985, London: IPC Magazines, almost coffee table size 64 pp.)

Color covers of Bruce in a public shower room and at the helm of a sailboat at sea. Inside there are about 70 photos (a little over 20 in color) and an artist's rendition of Bruce with Clarence. These photos include: Bruce with knit caps and scarves; an elegant Julianne Philips; the ice-skating cover from Rolling Stone; album covers; Steve Van Zandt in a light-colo#8b0000 suit; Bruce playing pinball; Bruce with the Pretenders; with the Stray Cats' Brian Setzer; and many of Bruce and the band. One-page discography of albums and singles. No index. This book is by the publishers of Melody Maker and NME and draws on quotes and information from those magazines. This biography of Bruce's career begins with Born in the U.S.A. and then goes back to the beginning and works forward chronologically through the previous albums. The writing is a bit leaden, but full of details. The narrative provides background and descriptive information about the albums and songs rather than interpretations of lyrics.

ISBN 85037-976-8 (paperback) [ Check our list of links to buy. ]