There Was Nothing You Could Do

"The best music writing can make you hear an album you’ve listened to hundreds (or thousands) of times in a new way. Steven Hyden has done just that with There Was Nothing You Could Do, his exhaustive and highly entertaining deep dive into Bruce Springsteen’s massive and often misunderstood commercial peak, Born in the U.S.A. Well-researched and thought-provoking, the book also uses that landmark album and its fallout to examine the changes we have undergone as a culture, and the price we’ve paid as a people and a country. Highly recommended."

“An instant classic from Steven Hyden. Definitive and elegant and essential. Hyden shows how Born in the U.S.A. changed Springsteen and us—and at what cost.”

“This book offers you the rare possibility—you can listen to Bruce Springsteen and feel like you are in his brain as he makes the music. Steven not only gets under the hood of creativity, but he separates Bruce from his contemporaries by better understanding them. It makes you want to listen to Bruce again with fresh ears. I love it!”

“Steven Hyden could write about my least favorite band and I'd gobble it up because he's just so good at writing about music. But when he tackles one of my favorite living artists, The Boss, he sends me to heaven. This book is such a gift: Hyden contextualizes one of Bruce's biggest and least understood records by taking us back to the ’80s and into the heartland and Bruce's headspace. This isn't a ‘making of’ book, it's a meditation on who we thought we were and how we may have lost that identity, all told through Hyden's experience with the record. It's entertaining, heartbreaking, and makes a great case for Bruce Springsteen as one the great artists of our time.”

“Steven Hyden’s There Was Nothing You Could Do honors and understands Bruce Springsteen and his music. It’s for Springsteen fans, but even better, it’s about Springsteen fans: Why he matters to us, what he represents, how every person can feel like his songs were written individually for them. Hyden’s writing makes you want to tap the steering wheel right along with him and The Boss.”

“Hyden scores good points …Fans of the Boss will find arguable interpretations on every page, but definitely a book worth their attention.” 

“Balancing a fan’s enthusiasm with a critic’s attention to detail, Hyden sheds light on Springsteen’s legacy and the political moment that allowed him to occupy the cultural ‘center of American life.’ Fans of the Boss will want to add this to their bookshelves.” 

"A damn fun read."

"But with the passion of a lifelong fan who first heard the cassette in a very-Springsteen way... and the keen mind of a music journalist, Hyden’s book is about far more than a dozen tunes produced in the mid-‘80s. And it’s a very welcome addition to the Boss Bookshelf."

“Even longtime Springsteen fans will learn a thing or two from Hyden’s entertaining examination of the man and his music.”

“[Hyden] is an imaginative cultural omnivore…[the book] is an astute and briskly written look at the circumstances and legacy of an album whose outsize popularity has made it paradoxically divisive among Tramps Like Us.”

“Fascinating…A very well written, wise, and insightful book.”

"Steven Hyden writes about Bruce Springsteen’s monumental 1984 record as a watershed moment—for American culture, for Springsteen, and for the author himself. Hyden... mixes memoir, sociological observation, and good old-fashioned journalism to explore how this blockbuster album defined a decade and created—and in some ways ended—the Bruce Springsteen persona."

“There Was Nothing You Could Do explores how the album channeled our hopes for common ground while foreshadowing today’s extreme political polarization. It uses classic songs like 'Dancing in the Dark' to dissect the arc of Springsteen, rock culture and politics with an amusing blend of cultural criticism, music journalism and personal vignettes."

“Hyden’s thoughtful… deep dive explores how the Boss and his 'ass-cheeks' triumphed and yet proved the last time heartland rock could convincingly champion an ameliorative account of the American way. Four stars!”

"An easy and enjoyable read."

"Steven Hyden‘s excellent new book... traces the pop-cultural and political impact of that album."