Deliver Me from Nowhere

The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska

By: Warren Zanes

Narrated by: Warren Zanes

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The fascinating story behind the making of Bruce Springsteen’s most surprising album, Nebraska, revealing its pivotal role in Springsteen’s career

“Brilliant reading . . . For fans of American music, Deliver Me from Nowhere makes a great ghost story.”—The Boston Globe

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Without Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen might not be who he is today. The natural follow-up to Springsteen’s hugely successful album The River should have been the hit-packed Born in the U.S.A. But instead, in 1982, he came out with an album consisting of a series of dark songs he had recorded by himself, for himself. But more than forty years later, Nebraska is arguably Springsteen’s most important record—the lasting clue to understanding not just his career as an artist and the vision behind it, but also the man himself.

Nebraska is rough and unfinished, recorded on cassette tape with a simple four-track recorder by Springsteen, alone in his bedroom, just as the digital future was announcing itself. And yet Springsteen now considers it his best album. Nebraska expressed a turmoil that was reflective of the mood of the country, but it was also a symptom of trouble in the artist’s life, the beginnings of a mental breakdown that Springsteen would only talk about openly decades after the album’s release.

Warren Zanes spoke to many people involved with making Nebraska, including Bruce Springsteen himself. He also interviewed more than a dozen celebrated artists and musical insiders, from Rosanne Cash to Steven Van Zandt, about their reactions to the album. Zanes interweaves these conversations with inquiries into the myriad cultural touchpoints, including Terrence Malick’s Badlands and the short stories of Flannery O’Conner, that influenced Springsteen as he was writing the album’s haunting songs. The result is a textured and revelatory account of not only a crucial moment in the career of an icon but also a record that upended all expectations and predicted a home-recording revolution.

©2023 Warren Zanes (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Warren Zanes is in possession of a genuine, often astonishing writerly gift. This book is about Bruce Springsteen’s weird, gothic, heartbroken 1982 left turn, Nebraska, which is not just a startling swerve in the career of a great American artist or a pivotal yet neglected transitional moment in the history of recorded music, but the question Springsteen asked himself forty years ago: What do you do when you begin to understand that the things you have loved most have begun to do you harm? This is some of Zanes’s best writing ever, which is saying a lot.”—Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

“Zanes has emerged from the wilderness of Nebraska with one of the greatest books about the creative process ever written. By focusing on Springsteen’s dark masterpiece and the soil it emerged from, Zanes elevates it to near mythic stature. Deliver Me from Nowhere is profoundly felt, deeply understood, and (as it should be) full of joy and abandon—with a hint of menace.”—Nick Flynn, author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

“This book, more than any other, reveals the hidden corners of Bruce Springsteen’s creative world. It zeroes in on a period of both volatility and artistic breakthrough, when Springsteen made the record no one was asking for but that he was compelled to make. Warren Zanes, one of our very finest music writers, always comes from the place of the music and its maker. No one else could have told this story.”—Judd Apatow

Much more than a “Making of” story…

Warren Zane’s book on the making of Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” is much more than a telling of its inception, writing, recording and legacy. It is that, done with detail, but it brings you into the psyche of, not only the man who created it, but those around him and how they all navigated this seminal and monumentally unique record. Delving deep into what made Springsteen record the album, Zanes brings to life the era that it was created in, bringing along with the listener his recollections of not only Bruce’s thoughts and experiences but Warren’s experiences from his days with his band, The Del Fuegos. This is a wonderful and thoughtful journey back to 1982 and the book lands you smack dab into the making of a landmark recording.

Every Springsteen Fan Should Read This

I read Warren Zanes’ biography of Tom Petty and really enjoyed it. And I was always a Springsteen fan. This book was excellent and one of the best I have read this year. Zanes is a fantastic interviewer and storyteller, and I love that he narrates. The sections where he shares questions he asks and responses from Springsteen and others are fantastic. It lets you see how good he is at creating a dialogue with the person he is interviewing. I hope Zanes continues to write about other artists because he is great at it. And along the way, I rediscovered Nebraska because I never knew the history behind it.

Compelling story!

This story brought back memories of when I first bought Nebraska on LP the day it came out and taped it to hear it in my car. I felt confused but let the tape repeat itself over and over again until every song stuck in in my head. I always wondered why Bruce never put out the band versions but after listening to Warren’s story, I am glad they never materialized except in live performances. Thank you Warren for a great book!

Delivered

Mr Zanes certainly delivered with this outstanding book! I couldn’t stop listening once I started it. Thank you!

Wow!

A fascinating account into the making of one of the most influential albums of all time.

An equally poetic look at a poetic masterpiece.

I received Nebraska as a birthday present for my 9th birthday - the same year that it was released and it helped shape my early love of rock and roll and "street poetry." 40 years later the record is largely regarded as one of the most important records that anyone could have in their collection. Zanes' deep dive into the back story of Nebraska opens up a new lens for us to view this amazing piece of music, art and poetry. It is one corner of Bruce's career that is often ignored -but true fans know that "This is it." Great read.

Must read for Springsteen fans

This is a must read for fans who want to understand a crucial part of Springsteen’s career.

A wonderful book.

I feel like I will return to this book often, thumbing through it and worrying over certain anecdotes, not unlike Bruce has done with books of photos and short stories in the years since “Born to Run.”

What a gem

I had listened to a podcast that the author was on and I was intrigued. The audiobook was so enjoyable. I am a lifelong Bruce fan and really got into this. The author did a terrific job performing here. I am so glad and lucky that I found this. Highly recommended for all Bruce fans but also any music fans.

Great book

Entertaining and informative book about Bruce Springsteen that reveals a lot about the artist and his process