Exploring U2: Is This Rock 'n' Roll? features new writing in the growing field of U2 studies. In keeping with U2's own efforts to remove barriers that have long prevented dialogue for understanding and improving the human experience, this collection of essays covers such disciplines as literature, music, philosophy, and theology.

They've frequently been described as the biggest band in the world. The Joshua Tree alone has sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide. They hold the record for the most Grammy wins by a rock act. And their 360 tour, which started in 2009, attracted more than seven million fans and is one of the highest-grossing tours of all time. U2 has revolutionized the definition of rock band by staying true to its beliefs and passions, through meteoric success, public controversy, and an astounding forty-year working relationship. Now for the first time, get the complete photographic history of one of the world's most influential and legendary rock bands. Mat Snow's U2: Revolution is lushly illustrated with over two hundred photos and two gatefold timelines exploring the band's incredible history. Starting with their roots in Dublin where the four teenaged friends first started playing together in Larry Mullen's kitchen, Snow follows the band through their debut album, Boy, their chart-topping albums of the 1980s, their record-breaking tours and global activism of the 1990s, and their reflective reconnection with core fans in the twenty-first century.

U2 and the Religious Impulse examines indications in U2's music and performances that the band work at conscious and subconscious levels as artists who focus on matters of the spirit, religious traditions, and a life guided by both belief and doubt. U2 is known for a career of stirring songs, landmark performances and for its interest in connecting with fans to reach a higher power to accomplish greater purposes. Its success as a rock band is unparalleled in the history of rock 'n' roll's greatest acts. In addition to all the thrills one would expect from entertainers at this level, U2 surprises many listeners who examine its lyrics and concert themes by having a depth of interest in matters of human existence more typically found in literature, philosophy and theology. The multi-disciplinary perspectives presented here account for the durability of U2's art and offer informed explanations as to why many fans of popular music who seek a connection with a higher power find U2 to be a kindred spirit. This study will be of interest to scholars and students of religious studies and musicology, interested in religion and popular music, as well as religion and popular culture more broadly.

In U2’s Songs of Trauma and Hope: “Between the Midnight and the Dawning", Ingunn Røysland and Charles Ivan Armstrong show that trauma is an important theme for U2. While this leads the band to confront extreme instances of grief and suffering, this does not prevent them to cross (in the words of their song “A Sort of Homecoming”) “the fields of mourning to a light that's in the distance.” Theories from trauma and memory studies are deployed in the examination of song lyrics and performances by U2, spanning from the early days of the band to more recent times. In their exploration of light and dark, of hope and trauma within the U2 catalogue, Røysland and Armstrong acknowledge the complexity of the songs, addressing different layers, including romantic as well as divine allegory. The authors also address the band’s troublesome lyrics, with an entire chapter devoted to “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” as well as the role of multidirectional memory and significant places, so-called lieux de mémoire, in U2’s dealings with a ranger of historical conflicts and crises. They further examine how music plays an important part in the path of healing from traumatic wounds, analysing the reception of the songs. Ultimately, it is suggested, U2 shows us how to get “through the night.”

This new and updated edition of U2 A Diary brings U2s story up to date with information about the band’s ground-breaking film, U2 3D, recording sessions for No Line on the Horizon and the story of how the album was leaked online twice before its official release, the U2 360 world tour and Bono’s back injury that forced an entire leg to be postponed and the band’s struggles to decide how to follow No Line on the Horizon and the 360 Tour with new material. Here is the complete history of U2 told exactly as it happened in day-by-day diary format. As well as following the mid-1970's birth of the band to the present day in journal form, U2: A Diary also includes new revelations and fresh insights into key moments of U2's development. Through interviews and extensive research, author Matt McGee sheds light on stories. Fully illustrated with pictures spanning the bands career, this is a fanatically detailed account of a legendary group's life!

U2’s success and significance are due, in large part, to finding inventive, creative solutions for overcoming obstacles and moving past conventional boundaries. As it has embraced change and transformation over and over again, its fans and critics have come to value and expect this element of U2. These new essays from the disciplines of organizational communication, music theory, literary studies, religion, and cultural studies offer perspectives on several ways U2’s dynamic of change has been a constant theme throughout its career. These essays came from the U2 Conference 2013 exploring the music, work, and influence of U2, and to further the scholarship on U2.

U2 formed in 1976 when the drummer posted a note to the school bulletin board. Over forty years later, the band is still producing music and touring the world with the same line-up they have had ever since the 1970s. U2 have become one of the most successful rock bands of all time, releasing fourteen studio albums and over seventy singles. In this book, the reader is guided through each release, song by song, from the band's first album "Boy" (1980) until the single "Your Song Saved My Life" released in 2021. Everyone knows U2's biggest hits-songs like "With or Without You," "One," and "Beautiful Day"-but delve into all of the songs including B-sides, compilation tracks, and lesser-known album tracks. U2: Song by Song is a look at every song by the Irish rock group, written by a lifelong U2 fan. The book provides an examination of each track including the inspirations behind them and the impact that these songs have had on the world today. U2: Song by Song charts U2's rise to success, documenting chart positions, and awards given to each song.

The Irish rock band U2, and especially its frontman Bono, are among the most effective activists ever. U2 has convinced wealthy governments to forgive tens of billions of dollars in loans while spreading its activist messages to billions of people, helping save millions of lives. So how did four boys from one of the poorest countries in the West achieve this? Who and what influenced them? What strategies did they use to succeed as much as they did as activists, and how did those strategies change over time? In particular, how did lead singer Bono make the leap into superstar lobbying? And, with so much attention on him, how has he handled critics who have taken to task his work on behalf of developing countries? In The World and U2: One Band’s Remaking of Global Activism, Alan McPherson trains a historian’s eye on the evolution and influence of the band’s activism from its formation in 1976 to its most recent album and concert tour. Throughout its nearly four decades, the band has held up a mirror to the increasing selfishness in the world while at the same time working to fill the void left by those who have abandoned the world’s poor to their plight. From raising awareness about war and human rights in the 1980s to engaging in direct action in the 1990s to moving mountains of cash for the planet’s poorest in the twenty-first century, the band, and especially Bono, have both raised the bar and set the example for other celebrity activists. But it is also a success that has brought a greater scrutiny to bear on U2’s activism and initiated a healthy debate about the merits of Western development aid. The World and U2: One Band’s Remaking of Global Activism tells this story of U2’s successful storming of the world’s philanthropic stage. It will enchant the band’s fans, engage its critics, and offer lessons—and warnings—to activists seeking to change things for the better.

U2 planted the seeds for The Joshua Tree during an existential journey through America. As Irishmen in the 1970s, the band grew up with the belief that America was a place of freedom and prosperity, a symbol of hope and a refuge for all people. However, global politics of the 1980s undermined that impression and fostered hypocritical policies that manipulated Americans and devastated people around the world. Originally conceived as "The Two Americas," The Joshua Tree was U2's critique of America. Rather than living up to the ideal that the country was "an idea that belongs to people who need it most," the band found that America sacrificed equality and justice for populism and fascism. This book explores the political, social, and cultural themes rooted in The Joshua Tree when it was originally released in 1987 and how those themes resonated as a response to the election of Donald Trump when U2 toured for the album's 30th anniversary. The author juxtaposes the band's existential journey through America with his own journey connecting with his Irish roots by becoming a citizen in the age of Trump and places U2's and The Joshua Tree's relevance in context with the current political climate.

Is it possible to be a committed Christian and a rock superstar? Can political activists make good music? Do hugely successful rock bands really care about AIDS and poverty in Africa, or is it just another image-enhancing schtick? U2 and Philosophy ponders these and other seeming dichotomies in the career of the Irish supergroup. For over two decades, U2 has been one of the biggest acts in rock music. They’ve produced over a dozen platinum and multiplatinum records and won 15 Grammy Awards. Critics everywhere have praised the band’s thoughtful, complex lyrics and the artistry of their music. At the same time, Bono, the group’s lead singer, has dedicated himself to political and social causes, blurring the line between rock star and respected statesman. Offering fresh insight into the band’s music and activism, these thought-provoking essays allows fans to discover philosophy through the eyes of U2, and rediscover U2 through the eyes of philosophers.