In an industry known for ephemeral enthusiasms, Bruce Springsteen has remained interesting by successfully reinventing himself half a dozen times. At his peak Springsteen redefined rock music, rescuing it from pretentious concept albums and the apparent contempt arrogant stars held for their audience. But what really makes Springsteen"s one of the most intriguing and rewarding careers in rock history is that having revitalised rock"n"roll, he was still capable of wrong-footing fans with such idiosyncratic and heartfelt albums as Nebraska, Tunnel Of Love and The Ghost Of Tom Joad. This is a long-overdue biography of one of rock"s most fascinating figures and Christopher Sandford has a deft turn of phrase--Springsteen"s bodyguards "made Elvis"s look like the Algonquin set"--but it is not up to the mark of Sandford"s earlier works on Mick Jagger and Sting. As a serious biographer Sandford quite rightly refuses to worship his subject mindlessly; unfortunately he is so busy being objective that somewhere along the line he has lost sight of the inspiring passion of the man and his music. Bruce is one of rock"s good guys. In concert he is electrifying; in conversation, illuminating; on record, exhilarating. There is an integrity to his craft. He is one of the few stars of this stature to have remained true to his roots and his social conscience. And although on occasion Sandford does nail the music, he misses the exultation and enthusiasm of Springsteen on record and, particularly, in concert. --Patrick Humphries