Picture of author.

Louis P. Masur

Author of 1831: Year of Eclipse

14 Works 816 Members 9 Reviews

About the Author

Louis P.Masur, a professor of history at the City University of New York and the editor of Reviews in American History, is the author of Rites of Execution: Capital Punishment and the Transformation of American Culture, 1776-1865. He lives in New Jersey. (Bowker Author Biography)

Includes the name: Louis P. Masur

Works by Louis P. Masur

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

Last year was the 40th anniversary of the release of Born to Run, the album many critics consider to be Bruce Springsteen's finest work (for me, the top spot circulates among a handful of albums depending on my mood and circumstances). This book is presented as an in-depth look at the making of that album, including a song-by-song analysis that was really interesting to someone like me who loves music but doesn't play or know much about the particulars.

Unfortunately, that's only one chapter of the book and the only chapter that was completely new to me. The rest of the book is fleshed out with an overview of Springsteen's life and career, both before and after Born to Run, that as a card-carrying crazyfan I was already very familiar with, even to the extent of being able to identify which interviews or articles various quotes were pulled from. And the tense drama surrounding the recording of the album, which took months and months, while reviewed adequately here is better covered in the documentary Wings for Wheels that accompanied the re-mastered version of the album back in 2005.

So superfans won't find a whole lot new in this book. But casual fans or readers interested in musical analysis or the music-making process should get much more value out of it. The writing is fine, and in my limited judgment the musical analysis seems original and accurate (there's lots of talk about how various songs on BTR modulate from major to minor chords and the effect that's meant to give, and even though I listened to each song several times as I read the segment about it in the book, I'm still not sure I could identify a minor chord if one walked up and spit on me).
… (more)
 
Flagged
rosalita | Sep 20, 2016 |
A really good little read about a singular year in American history. Its amazing what all we can pack into 365 days...
 
Flagged
ScoutJ | 1 other review | Mar 31, 2013 |
Found this book while browsing through the baseball section of the local B&N... was in the mood for an historical baseball book. This fit the bill: well written and researched, along with some great photographs.
½
 
Flagged
BooksForDinner | Oct 11, 2011 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Statistics

Works
14
Members
816
Popularity
#31,253
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
9
ISBNs
50
Languages
1

Charts & Graphs