"
A frank, funny, and inventive blend of biography,
music criticism, and memoir told in thirteen tracks.
As he enters his sixties, Bruce Springsteen remains a
paragon of all that is cool in the world of rock. He''s a genuine
voice of the people, the bastard child of Woody Guthrie and James
Brown, and an elder statesman who has inspired generations of
bands. He''s won twenty Grammy Awards, an Oscar, two Golden Globes,
and is a member of two Halls of Fame.
There are dozens of books about Springsteen. What''s
left to say? Nothing objective, perhaps. But when it comes to
music, objectivity is highly overrated. Robert Wiersema has been a
Springsteen fan since he was a teenager, following tours to see
multiple shows in a row, watching set lists develop in real time
via the Internet, ordering bootlegs from shady vendors in Italy.
His attachment is deeper than fandom, though: he''s grown up with
Springsteen''s songs as the soundtrack to his life, beginning with
his youth in rural British Columbia and continuing on through
dreams of escape, falling in love, and becoming a father.
Walk Like a Man is the liner notes for a mix
tape, a blend of biography, music criticism, and memoir. Like the
best mix tapes, it balances joy and sorrow, laughter seasoning the
dark-night-of-the-soul questions that haunt us all. Wiersema''s
book is the story of a man becoming a man (despite getting a little
lost along the way), and of Springsteen''s songs and life that have
accompanied him on his journey.
"
