Author Guide · Music Memoir
Books Written by
Bruce Springsteen grew up in Freehold, New Jersey, and has won 20 Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for “Streets of Philadelphia”. In September 2016 Simon & Schuster published Born to Run, a 528-page autobiography that went to the top of The New York Times bestseller list. The following year he turned it into a stage show, Springsteen on Broadway, telling stories from the book between songs. He has also published a collection of his lyrics, an illustrated book built on one of his songs, and a book of conversations with Barack Obama. This guide covers his 4 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 4 key books · 1998–2021 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Bruce Springsteen has published four books: Songs (1998), Outlaw Pete (2014), Born to Run (2016) and Renegades: Born in the USA (2021), written with Barack Obama. Start with Born to Run, his autobiography; it is the book the others sit around.
Where to Start with Bruce Springsteen
If you want his life story
→ Born to Run (2016) — the 2016 autobiography.
If you want the songs on the page
→ Songs (1998) — his collected lyrics.
If you want a conversation about America
→ Renegades (2021) — with Barack Obama.
4 Bruce Springsteen Books, in Order
Songs
A collection of his song lyrics, published by Avon Books in 1998, eighteen years before his autobiography.
Outlaw Pete
A picture book for adults, illustrated by Frank Caruso and published by Simon & Schuster in November 2014, based on his song “Outlaw Pete”.
Born to Run
His autobiography, published by Simon & Schuster, from a childhood in Freehold, New Jersey, and a difficult relationship with his father, through the E Street Band and fame. He writes openly about depression. It topped The New York Times bestseller list, he narrated the audiobook himself, and the stage show Springsteen on Broadway (2017–2018) included readings from it.
Renegades
A book of conversations between Springsteen and the former president Barack Obama, published by Crown in October 2021, about race, music, money, fathers, masculinity and America. It grew out of their eight-part Spotify podcast of the same name, launched in February 2021.
In What Order to Read Bruce Springsteen
The books do not depend on each other, so read them in any order. Born to Run is the centre: it tells the story behind most of the songs in Songs and the life that the Obama conversations draw on.
Read Songs next to the albums if you want to follow his writing record by record, and Renegades once you know his story and want to hear him talk about the country his songs describe.
A reading path
1. Born to Run (2016)
2. Songs (1998)
3. Renegades: Born in the USA (2021)
4. Outlaw Pete (2014)
The years · 1949–2021
Quick facts about Bruce Springsteen
- Known for
- Springsteen is known as one of the defining American rock songwriters, whose songs about working-class life in New Jersey and beyond carry over into his autobiography.
- 1949
- Born in Long Branch, New Jersey
- 1975
- Album Born to Run
- 1998
- Songs
- 2016
- Born to Run
- 2021
- Renegades
- Born
- 23 September 1949, Long Branch, New Jersey; grew up in Freehold
- Band
- The E Street Band
- Awards
- 20 Grammy Awards; Academy Award for “Streets of Philadelphia” (1994)
- Honours
- Kennedy Center Honors (2009); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
- Stage
- Springsteen on Broadway, New York, 2017–2018
- Podcast
- Renegades: Born in the USA with Barack Obama, Spotify, 2021
The red mark is 2016: Born to Run, his autobiography.
How Bruce Springsteen Writes Prose
Born to Run is a first-person account in his own voice; no co-writer is credited. He began writing it after the E Street Band played the Super Bowl halftime show in 2009, and worked on it privately for seven years.
The book is built around his family as much as his career. His father and their difficult relationship run through it, and he describes his own depression. Springsteen on Broadway included readings from the book alongside songs.
His other books extend the same material: Songs collects the lyrics, Outlaw Pete turns one song into a picture book, and Renegades is conversation rather than writing, grown out of the podcast with Obama.
Watch
Bruce Springsteen on writing Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen talks to CBS Sunday Morning in 2016 about writing his autobiography Born to Run.
Frequently asked questions about Bruce Springsteen’s books
How many books has Bruce Springsteen written?
Four: Songs (1998), Outlaw Pete (2014), Born to Run (2016) and Renegades: Born in the USA (2021), the last with Barack Obama.
What are Bruce Springsteen’s books in order?
Songs (1998), Outlaw Pete (2014), Born to Run (2016) and Renegades: Born in the USA (2021).
Where should I start with Bruce Springsteen?
With Born to Run (2016), his autobiography. The other books are lyrics, an illustrated song and conversations, and make more sense once you know his story.
What is Bruce Springsteen’s most famous book?
Born to Run (2016), which topped The New York Times bestseller list and became the basis of Springsteen on Broadway.
Did Bruce Springsteen write Born to Run himself?
Yes. No co-writer is credited; he wrote it himself over seven years after the 2009 Super Bowl halftime show.
Is Born to Run about depression?
In part. He writes about his father and about depression in his own life. Most of the book covers his childhood, music and family.
Is Springsteen on Broadway based on the book?
Yes. The show, which opened on Broadway in October 2017 and ran until December 2018, included songs and readings from his 2016 autobiography.
What is Renegades: Born in the USA?
A 2021 book of conversations between Springsteen and Barack Obama, based on their Spotify podcast of the same name, about race, music, fathers and America.
Is Born to Run worth reading if you’re not a fan?
It is often read for its account of a working-class childhood, a strained father-son relationship and depression, which do not depend on knowing the albums. Fans get the most from the music chapters.
Footnotes
- Bruce Springsteen — Wikipedia
- Bruce Springsteen on CBS Sunday Morning — BroadwayWorld, 2016
- Born to Run (autobiography) — Wikipedia
- Renegades: Born in the USA — Wikipedia
- Outlaw Pete — Kirkus Reviews
- Springsteen reveals father’s ghost, depression in memoir — Malay Mail (AFP), 2016
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“Writing about yourself is a funny business.”
— Bruce Springsteen, on writing Born to Run (publisher’s description, 2016)
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