''Born to Run'' is an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

of American songwriter-musician

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

that was released on September 27, 2016 (the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

, narrated by Springsteen, was released on December 6, 2016). The title is named after Springsteen's iconic 1975 album and song ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. As his effort to break into the mainstream, the album was a commercial success, peaking at number thr ...

''. The book is a companion piece to '' Chapter and Verse'', a career-spanning album featuring songs from all stages of Springsteen's career that was released four days before the book. On the date of the book's release, Springsteen embarked on a nine-date book tour in the United States. The book has received critical acclaim.

Background

The book's release was officially announced on August 25, 2016.

Book tour

Springsteen embarked on a nine-date book tour which started on September 27, 2016, and concluded on October 10, 2016. The book tour then made its way to the United Kingdom and Germany in late October for two appearances. On October 27, Springsteen hosted another book-signing event in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, before interrupting the tour to take part in the annual ''

Stand Up For Heroes Stand Up for Heroes is annual benefit concert/comedy festival, started in 2007, that benefits the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which supports charities and runs programs benefitting veterans. The benefit usually kicks off New York Comedy Festival, a ...

'' concert, to appear in support of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's presidential campaign, and to receive the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

. The tour resumed with a five-date

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n leg, which was announced on November 21, 2016. This tour began in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on November 28, 2016, and concluded in

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its ...

on December 2. All events required fans to purchase a pre-signed copy of Springsteen's book. The free tickets for the book store appearances much like his shows were sold out in minutes. Two of the appearances, October 5 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and October 7 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

featured interviews only with Springsteen and were conducted by Dan Stone and

David Remnick David J. Remnick (born October 29, 1958) is an American journalist, writer and editor. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for his book '' Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire'', and is also the author of ''Resurrection'' and ''King of th ...

. Springsteen also made appearances on ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original host ...

'' on September 18, 2016, and on '' Late Night with Stephen Colbert'' on September 23, 2016 (Springsteen's 67th birthday), to promote the book.

''Springsteen on Broadway''

Springsteen performed an eight-week run in

from October–November 2017 titled ''

Springsteen on Broadway ''Springsteen on Broadway'' is a concert residency by Bruce Springsteen held at the Walter Kerr Theatre and St. James Theatre in New York City. The original residency at the Walter Kerr Theatre consisted of Springsteen performing five shows ...

'' where he performed his music, read from ''Born to Run'', and performed other spoken reminiscences written for the show. The run was extended through December 15, 2018.

Awards

In November 2017, Springsteen was nominated for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Spoken Word Album. In 2018 ''Born to Run'' won Best Autobiography/Memoir at the 2018 Audie Awards.

References

{{Bruce Springsteen American biographies Bruce Springsteen Music autobiographies American memoirs Books about rock musicians 2016 non-fiction books Simon & Schuster books