Over 40 color and 90 black and white impressively professional photos, some not published anywhere else. Most are of Bruce, a few of the E-Street band. Includes photo of Sting, photo of Steven with no headgear, and Bruce made up as an old man. Also photos of Bruce's houses and Freehold/Asbury Park landmarks, Child, the Castiles, The Sundance Blues Band, and Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom. Nice shots of Patti and Bruce. An eight page listing of studio sessions, with song lists and notes. The most complete list of shows available; the listings from 1965-1989 give setlists as well as comments and are continued by the even more comprehensive tour reviews in Backstreets magazine. No index.

This book is a testimonial to Charles Cross's devotion to the details of Bruce Springsteen's life and career. Among this eclectic collection of articles by Backstreets' contributors there is an E Street Band family tree diagram, a history of the Upstage and the musicians Bruce jammed with there, and a piece on the making of the cover for the Born in the USA album. There are interviews not only with Bruce but with all of the members of the E Street Band, early as well as later, and musicians like George Theiss, Southside Johnny. There are also stories by fans, including one who played baseball with him. The book includes tour guides for Asbury Park and Freehold, New Jersey and a primer on Springsteen collectibles that concludes with a two-page section on Bruce's '57 chevy (photo shown).

ISBN: 0-517-57399-7 (hardback) [ See the following entry to buy. ]

Backstreets: Springsteen: The Man and His Music by Charles R. Cross et. al. (NY:Harmony books, 1989 [expanded] paperback edition, pp.)

This is almost the same as the original hardback except that studio session and show information has been updated through February 2, 1992 to include "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town." In addition, interviews with Nils Lofgren, Vini Lopez, Boom Carter, Suki Lahav have been replaced by interviews with Danny Federici and Mike Appel. The two stories by fans and the Springsteen Collectibles section have also been dropped to make room for the lengthy interview of Appel by Charles Cross.

ISBN: 0-517-58929X (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ]

The Complete Guide to the Music of Bruce Springsteen by Patrick Humphries (1996, London, NY, Sydney: Omnibus Press, smaller than pocketbook-size, 130 pp.)

Color cover photos of Bruce's head on front and small BIUSA stage shot on back. Black and white photos of album covers up through The Ghost of Tom Joad album. About 30 black and white shots, most of Bruce singing/playing onstage alone; with Bob Dylan; with Chuck Berry; with Steven Van Zandt and of the 1984 band in front of their truck and on a convertible (sans Patti). About 15 color photos of Bruce and band onstage. Most of the photos are available elsewhere. Alphabetical index of song titles in the back. This is "An album-by-album, track-by-track examination of every song released by Springsteen…". The brief annotations for songs include background and evaluation of the music, but not explications of lyrics. Album reviews run for several pages and try to put the albums in context. Humphries is listed on the cover as a writer for Melody Maker, NME and Vox magazines, broadcaster on World Service radio, and author of books on Tom Waits and Bob Dylan as well as author of Springsteen: Blinded by the Light [also reviewed in this list].

ISBN: 0-7119-5304-X (paperback) [ Click here to buy this book. ]

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.: A Look at the Local Scene: The Bruce Springsteen Photo Discovery by Chuck Yopp and Donna Fenton (1983, Asbury Park, N.J.: Greetings Publications, 300 pp.)

All photos are black and white. This is the only way to see what the Asbury Park Bruce Springsteen wrote so many songs about looked like, since now in 1999, the place looks like a bomb was dropped on it. This book opens with shots of houses where Bruce lived; clubs, street signs and other landmarks around Asbury Park; Bruce's chevy; family photos; E Street band members including shots of Vini Lopez, Danny and Clarence surfing; local bands such as Cats on a Smooth Surface and Clarence's Red Bank Rockers; and lots of Bruce playing. The onstage photos are identified by club name and date. Other musicians in the photos include Beaver Brown, Southside Johnny, "Little Steven", Nils Lofgren, John Eddy, and a shot of Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon at a benefit by Steve Van Zandt. The book includes a list of 1992 guest appearances by date, band that played, club, and songs played. Also there are brief descriptions of 20 bands and musicians associated with Bruce. These are: Beaver Brown, Bill Chinnock, the Cats, Clarence and Steven's bands, David Johansen, Dave Edmunds, Gary U.S. Bonds, George Theiss, the Iron City Houserockers, Jackson Browne, John Eddie, Larson, Mitch Ryder, Nils Lofgren, Robert Gordon, Ronnie Spector, Sonny Kenn, Stray Cats, and Southside Johnny.

ISBN: 0-9611848-0-9 (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ]

In His Own Words: Bruce Springsteen by John Duffy (1993, London: Omnibus Press, 96pp.)

The cover (showing Bruce with bare arm across his forehead) is color; the photos inside (found on nearly every page) are all black and white. No index. Quotes by Bruce are grouped in twenty-nine broad topics that range from songs, albums, and the E Street band, to success, women, England, politics and religion. Dates are given for each quote, but if you want the source, you're outta luck!

ISBN: 0-7119-3017-1 (paperback) [ Click here to buy this book. ]

Local Hero: Bruce in the Words of His Band, The New Faces of the 1992/93 World Tour by Ermanno Labianca, photographs by Giovanni Canitano, introduction by Elliott Murphy. (1993, Italy: Great Dane Books, 192 pp.)

Over 100 color photos and about 25 black and white photos of Bruce and the 1992/93 band members, most taken on stage. A few photos from the Tunnel of Love E Street Band tour shows. Several sequential action shots. A great shot of a sweaty Bruce flat on the floor crooning into a mike. No index. During the Human Touch/Luckytown tour, Labianca interviewed members of the unnamed Springsteen band about their own musical careers and what it was like to work with Bruce: Roy Bittan, Shane Fontayne, Zachary Alford, Tommy Simms, Crystal Taliafero, Bobby King, Carol Dennis, Cleo Kennedy, Angel Rogers, and Gia Ciambotti. The book in question/answer format. The print is in split-columns with Italian/English on each page. The margins contain the setlists from each concert on the tour in chronological order. LaBianca is a fan, rock writer, and editor of Follow That Dream, a bilingual Springsteen fanzin e. He also wrote Bruce Springsteen: Rock Dictionary From A to Z.

ISBN: 8- 013013-939924(hardback) [ Check our list of links to buy. ]

Prove it All Night: The Bruce Springsteen Trivia Book by Deborah Mayer (1987, New Haven, CT: Mustang Publishing, pocket-book sized paperback, 96pp.)

Color cover (circa BIUSA period Bruce holding guitar above head) and a little over twenty black and white photos of Bruce in all kinds of headwear, some E Street band members, Bruce's sister Ginny (from the back), Julianne Philips, and Robert Gordon singing "Fire" with Bruce. This along with Backstreets magazine is your main source for brain teasers about Bruce, his songs, the concerts, band members and other musicians he's played with.

ISBN: 0-914457-17-9 (paperback) [ Click for an out-of-print book search. ]

Springsteen: Blinded by the Light by Patrick Humphries and Chris Hunt (1985, NY: Henry Holt, 176pp.)

Over two hundred black and white photos include early ones of Child and Steel Mill as well as the E street band and Bruce's girlfriends Karen Darbin and Lynn Goldsmith. Also, many of the photos are of articles and covers from magazines, album and boot covers, tickets and ticket stubs, concert posters and other artifacts. The first seventy two pages are text; the last hundred pages (by Hunt) begin with a 42 page chronology of career milestones and appearances beginning with Bruce's first professional gig at the Woodhaven Swim Club in 1965 and ending with the last BUISA concert in LA on October 2, 1995. The chronology is followed by an annotated alphabetical list of songs (released and unreleased) by Bruce, and a 33 page discography of bootlegs. A list of other musicians' songs that Bruce has covered and an E Street Band discography close the book. No index. Oh yeah, don't forget the text. Written by Humphries in a snappy style, the narrative presents a chronological biography and song analysis interwoven with secondary-source quotes from Bruce.

ISBN: 0-03-008532-2 (paperback) [ Click here to buy newer edition of this book. ]

Springsteen: Access All Areas by Lynn Goldsmith (N.Y. Universe Publishing, copyright Goldsmith, 2000; just over pocketbook-sized, 130 pages on durable paper).

Except for three pages of introduction, all pages contain black and white shots from the 1978 Darkness tour. Some photos stretch across two pages. About half of the photos are onstage and half backstage. Most are of Bruce and the E Street Band members. There are a few of others such as Bruce's mother and sister, Jon Landau, and fans. Some photographs in this book have appeared elsewhere. Most, however, are new. The pictures capture moments in time, not poses. There is a sense of spontenaity and joy. An example is the photo of Bruce and his mother onstage. Both are laughing; Adele is bent nearly double. There is a clarity and intimacy, and many moods are expressed. For example, one senses time stretching on forever for a doe-eyed Steve Van Zandt and a cigarette-smoking Max Weinberg as they hang out together on the back steps of a building. There are several shots of Steve, Clarence and other band members that capture unusual facial expressions. There are shots of Bruce in dramatic moments onstage. The band and Bruce are shown, sometimes from behind or the side of the stage, doing the skits they performed during this tour. Bruce asleep with guitar and Bruce in the dressing room and in the shower are a few of the shots backstage. Lynn's introduction provides inside information about what Bruce did while on that tour, and how he and the E Streeters related to each other while on the road. Very different from Lynn's first book on Bruce--(see next paragraph for review of it.)

ISBN: 0789303922 (paperback) [ Click here to order this book. ]
[ Click here to see some photos from this book. ]

Springsteen Photographed by Lynn Goldsmith (1984, NY: St. Martin's Press, 96pp.)

Girlfriend and noted photographer Goldsmith shows her unique style in over ninety stunning color photos of Bruce onstage and offstage from around the time of the Darkness on the Edge of Town album. Some pictures include members of the E-Street Band, particularly Clarence Clemons, but most photos are of Bruce in various poses in various outfits in various settings. The book is dedicated to Save the Children because Goldsmith sees a connection between Bruce's songs and performances and the goals of the Save the Children organization.

ISBN: 0-312-75394-2 (paperback) [ Check our list of links to buy. ]