I received this book as a gift, and despite loving Springsteen's music, didn't expect to enjoy the telling of Nebraska as much as I did. I knew it was an album recorded in Springsteen's bedroom, without the band, and released without much production. It was so much more than that. Zanes goes on tangents describing every influence, from his childhood to a random movie caught on TV, that went into making Nebraska. Though I'll probably never watch these films, read those books, or visit that New Jersey home, I was never bored during these tangents. I especially loved the look into the music scene at the time, how the album was received as a punk album to some in the DIY scene, and how Nebraska influenced some of my teenage favorite albums from Bon Iver and The National. I wish the book, or Springsteen himself, had more details on his mental health struggle coinciding with Nebraska, but I think I'll have to read The Boss' autobiography for that. 

As much as I'm disappointed in the E Street's Band silence on political and social issues important to me, especially with how Springsteen was so vocal on issues in the past, and how Little Steven takes credit for bringing apartheid in South Africa to an end but is silent on the Palestinian genocide wile South Africa takes Israel to the ICJ... I could go on and on, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was interesting to hear how Springsteen flew commercial and rejected valet service (now partying with Obama, hosting super-spreader events from 2021 on, seeing no problem with Ticketmaster charing $1,000 for tickets on his last tour, I'm getting off-track again...) this escape to the 1980s, though dark and challenging, was welcome. It added so many layers to an already deep album I'll continue to hear with new ears.