Bruce Springsteen’s America: A Dream Deferred

Weaving from jargon-free critical analysis to a fan’s passionate participatory research, this book places work and class at the center of the work of Bruce Springsteen. It juxtaposes the uninspiring work of his characters (factory workers, carwash attendants, cashiers, waitresses, farmhands, and immigrants) with the work of Bruce Springsteen himself as an indefatigable musician and performer. Springsteen is the hunter of invisible game, the teller of second-hand lives of common folks who ride used cars, believe that being born in the USA entitles them to something better, and keep the dream alive even when it turns into a lie or a curse, because what counts is dignity, the spirituality and the imagination of the dreamer, and the life-giving power of rock and roll. This book will appeal both to common readers and fans, and to scholars in fields such as sociology, history, music, cultural studies, and literature.