In the spring of 1980, an unexpected group of musical eccentrics came together to play their very first performance at a college party in Athens, Georgia. Within a few short years, they had taken over the world. Raw, outrageous and expressive, R.E.M.’s distinctive musical flair was unmatched, and a string of mega-successes solidified them as generational spokesmen. In the tumultuous transition between the wide-open ’80s and the anxiety of the early ’90s, R.E.M. challenged the corporate and social order, chasing a vision and cultivating a magnetic, transgressive sound. In this rich, intimate biography, critically acclaimed author Peter Ames Carlin looks beyond the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll to open a window into the fascinating lives of four college friends who stuck together at any cost, until the end.

The grandchild of Jewish immigrants from Hungary, Paul Simon has not only sold more than 100 million records, won 15 Grammy Awards and been installed into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame twice, but has also animated the meaning --- and flexibility --- of personal and cultural identity in a rapidly shrinking world. He has lived one of the most vibrant lives of modern times --- a story replete with tales of Carrie Fisher, Leonard Bernstein, Bob Dylan, Woody Allen, Shelley Duvall, Nelson Mandela, drugs, depression, marriage, divorce and more. Peter Ames Carlin's HOMEWARD BOUND is the first major biography of one of the most influential popular artists in American history.

In a groundbreaking biography that draws on unprecedented access to Springsteen and those closest to him, acclaimed music critic Peter Ames Carlin presents the most revealing account yet of New Jersey’s favorite son.