Down Thunder Road: The Making of Bruce Springsteen

The career of rock superstar Bruce Springsteen, including his long-term yet fragile father/son alliance with producer Mike Appel, is depicted in this unprettified look at the music industry. While appreciative of Springsteen's enormous talent, Eliot ( Death of a Rebel ) portrays The Boss as sullen and capricious; at the same time he avoids the mudslinging found in many ``unauthorized'' biographies. Eliot sees rock journalist/recording producer Jon Landau as the wedge that divided Springsteen and Appel and led to the bitter legal battle in 1976 that hampered Springsteen's career and virtually drove Appel out of the business. Sympathetic to Appel, the author portrays him as abrasive but totally dedicated to the success of his protege. The effect of Eliot's confident, spare style is hampered by many lengthy excerpts from Springsteen's pretrial depositions. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)