This is the story of the development of one of the most astute and compelling songwriters in the English language. Rumours of Glory is a highly personal account, by one whose quest for expression engages the most important social questions of our time.” — Jackson Browne
Cockburn gives us a finely-grained account of the ground from which he harvested some of the finest songs of his generation. — Lewis Hyde, author of The Gift
“Cockburn’s life story is the passage of a sonic rebel whose weapon is music. In this beautifully written account we see and hear what it means to open yourself to beauty and pain in every direction. This is a fitting soundtrack to an engaged life lived with purpose.” — Bill Ayers, activist, educator, and author of Fugitive Days and Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident
“This unusually absorbing book will enthrall Cockburn fans and anyone interested in the life of a serious artist committed to his music and progressive causes.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Articulate, thoughtful, sweeping…. The virtues of Cockburn’s memoir are many. A great artist explains, more fully than he has in the 40-year chronicle of his lyrics, the tides and swirls of his fascinating life.” — Christian Century
“While it has its share of rock ‘n’ roll stories (some of which are pretty cool), the book is much more about the author’s music, his faith, his political activism....he writes movingly about his religious faith, and the way it changed over the years.” — Booklist
“If the history of mankind were a song, Bruce Cockburn might have written it….He is no longer holding back: ‘Rumours’ exposes the folds in his relationships with women, the divine, various causes, music — and marvelously unpacks his songs like origami laid flat.” — San Jose Mercury News
“Bruce Cockburn’s new memoir is beautifully and thoughtfully written; no surprise, considering that the Canadian musician is one of best lyricists on the planet…Cockburn’s songs stand the test of time. So will this memoir.” — Lincoln Journal Star
“Cockburn’s Rumours of Glory is not your standard rock and roll memoir…. candid, unbreezy, opinionated…These are the accumulations of an intricate and self-aware man.” — Globe and Mail, Canada's National newspaper (Toronto)
“Beyond belief systems (or lack thereof), the Rumours of Glory book and box set offer a call to life, embracing the mysteries of existence and the search for love and beauty, wherever one finds it.” — Rolling Stone
“Cockburn’s look at the picture of his life is extensive and full of well-told pieces…. Not much seems to be held back…. Cockburn lays the trials of his life on the page and the result is a compelling read for any fan of songwriting.” — No Depression
“In this uncommonly frank and poetic memoir, Cockburn traces his life story with commendable honesty, kicking at his own darkness and daring to see what it bleeds…. This is, above all, an illuminating, lucid work of self-examination.” — Quill & Quire
“Unique and interesting….surprisingly revealing for a man known for being so private.” — CBC
“One of the advantages of age is being able to laugh at your own youth-which Cockburn does. Earnestly, of course.” — Maclean's
“His book is an honest and compelling memoir… The book and his music taken together present Cockburn as an indisputably accomplished artist and also one of the great humanitarians of our troubled time. — Street Roots News
“Whenever I need inspiration to live creatively, passionately, and relevantly in the world, I do well to throw a Bruce Cockburn CD in my player—any one of them would do—and to revisit his memoir, Rumours.” — ESA
“His autobiography is an informative look into the mind of an articulate chronicler of life in a complex age. Any admirer of Cockburn’s deep and rich songbook will appreciate the backstory” — Entertainment Weekly
While it has its share of rock ‘n’ roll stories (some of which are pretty cool), the book is much more about the author’s music, his faith, his political activism....he writes movingly about his religious faith, and the way it changed over the years.
Articulate, thoughtful, sweeping…. The virtues of Cockburn’s memoir are many. A great artist explains, more fully than he has in the 40-year chronicle of his lyrics, the tides and swirls of his fascinating life.
Cockburn gives us a finely-grained account of the ground from which he harvested some of the finest songs of his generation.
Beyond belief systems (or lack thereof), the Rumours of Glory book and box set offer a call to life, embracing the mysteries of existence and the search for love and beauty, wherever one finds it.
If the history of mankind were a song, Bruce Cockburn might have written it….He is no longer holding back: ‘Rumours’ exposes the folds in his relationships with women, the divine, various causes, music — and marvelously unpacks his songs like origami laid flat.
Bruce Cockburn’s new memoir is beautifully and thoughtfully written; no surprise, considering that the Canadian musician is one of best lyricists on the planet…Cockburn’s songs stand the test of time. So will this memoir.
Cockburn’s Rumours of Glory is not your standard rock and roll memoir…. candid, unbreezy, opinionated…These are the accumulations of an intricate and self-aware man.
This is the story of the development of one of the most astute and compelling songwriters in the English language. Rumours of Glory is a highly personal account, by one whose quest for expression engages the most important social questions of our time.
Cockburn’s life story is the passage of a sonic rebel whose weapon is music. In this beautifully written account we see and hear what it means to open yourself to beauty and pain in every direction. This is a fitting soundtrack to an engaged life lived with purpose.
Unique and interesting….surprisingly revealing for a man known for being so private.
Cockburn’s look at the picture of his life is extensive and full of well-told pieces…. Not much seems to be held back…. Cockburn lays the trials of his life on the page and the result is a compelling read for any fan of songwriting.
One of the advantages of age is being able to laugh at your own youth-which Cockburn does. Earnestly, of course.
His autobiography is an informative look into the mind of an articulate chronicler of life in a complex age. Any admirer of Cockburn’s deep and rich songbook will appreciate the backstory
Whenever I need inspiration to live creatively, passionately, and relevantly in the world, I do well to throw a Bruce Cockburn CD in my player—any one of them would do—and to revisit his memoir, Rumours.
His book is an honest and compelling memoir… The book and his music taken together present Cockburn as an indisputably accomplished artist and also one of the great humanitarians of our troubled time.
In this uncommonly frank and poetic memoir, Cockburn traces his life story with commendable honesty, kicking at his own darkness and daring to see what it bleeds…. This is, above all, an illuminating, lucid work of self-examination.
While it has its share of rock ‘n’ roll stories (some of which are pretty cool), the book is much more about the author’s music, his faith, his political activism....he writes movingly about his religious faith, and the way it changed over the years.
★ 2014-09-28
The Canadian folk/rock singer-songwriter recalls a nomadic life spent witnessing the social and political crises of our time through song. Cockburn (b. 1945) proves to be a natural storyteller in this debut, which begins with his shy, lonely childhood growing up in a comfortable Ottawa family and traces his rise as a celebrated guitarist who moved from 1960s coffeehouses to concert halls to such hit recordings as "Wondering Where the Lions Are" (1980) and "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" (1984). Known for his eclectic musical tastes—jazz, rock, blues, reggae, folk, country—he entered the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Writing with intelligence and candor, he tells how other artists—from Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg to Doris Lessing and Christian/occult author Charles Williams—influenced his thinking and work and sparked his lifelong activism against war, injustice and exploitation. Cockburn reflects at length on his keen interest in Christian mysticism and the "active benevolence" of the Bible, his view of his protest songs as cries of spiritual anguish, and his travels to troubled parts of Central America, Africa and elsewhere, where injustices touched him and turned into songs like "Rocket Launcher," which he wrote after meeting with survivors of genocide against Mayan people by Guatemalan militias. "What doesn't kill you makes for songs," he writes. Long repressed and preferring "a covert life," Cockburn writes that it took him many years to feel comfortable performing for audiences and to break out of the "bonds of isolation for the infinitely elastic bag of human absurdity." He recalls his early unsuccessful marriage and subsequent intimate relationships with a series of strong women, including an unidentified "Madame X," who helped him open up emotionally in the 1990s. This unusually absorbing book will enthrall Cockburn fans and anyone interested in the life of a serious artist committed to his music and progressive causes.
