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Surrender

Bono Autobiography: 40 Songs, One Story

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Surrender

By: Bono
Narrated by: Bono
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Bono—artist, activist and the lead singer of Irish rock band U2—has written a memoir: honest and irreverent, intimate and profound, Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he’s lived, the challenges he’s faced and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him.

Narrated by the author, Surrender is an intimate, immersive listening experience, telling stories from Bono’s early days in Dublin, to joining a band and playing sold out stadiums around the world with U2, plus his more than 20 years of activism.

Throughout a remarkable life, music has always been a constant for Bono and in the audiobook, his distinctive voice is interwoven with a very personal soundtrack adding atmosphere and texture to each and every scene. From moments of classic U2 hits to snippets by The Clash, Patti Smith, Verdi, Johnny Cash and Mozart, Surrender also exclusively features clips of newly recorded reimagined versions of U2 songs including ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘With Or Without You’, ‘One’, ‘Beautiful Day’ and more, glimpsed for the first time on Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

As one of the music world’s most iconic artists and the cofounder of organizations ONE and (RED), Bono’s career has been written about extensively. But in Surrender, it’s Bono who picks up the pen, writing for the first time about his remarkable life and those he has shared it with. In his unique voice, Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin, including the sudden loss of his mother when he was 14, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than 20 years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty. Writing with candor, self-reflection, and humor, Bono opens the aperture on his life—and the family, friends and faith that have sustained, challenged and shaped him.

Surrender’s subtitle, '40 Songs, One Story,' is a nod to the book’s 40 chapters, which are each named after a U2 song.

©2022 Bono (P)2022 Penguin Audio
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Bono delivers far more than expected, with this extraordinary piece of work, filling in many a blank & clarifying as many more.
Loved this book, and really, consider myself an average fan of the band, and so much of the enjoyment comes via Bono self narrating, & doing an absolutely first class job of same. A very long & comprehensive recount of one of rocks most successful & endearing bands - very highly recommended, 5 very easy stars from me.

A great rock biopic, up there with the best.

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Bono’s performance is wonderful. Coupled with the song snippets, effects and Bono’s unique storytelling style, this is well worth a listen and then, listen again.

The best audiobook I’ve read

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A lifelong U2 fan , from the Northside of Dublin, I enjoyed every minute . A great story

A great piece of writing

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I loved reading/hearing this book, I learnt so much of his history and how he got too be where he is now with his love and passion for all things and causes.... can't recommend this enough

Amazing

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Started strongly! A fascinating, very personal story that lost me in the last few chapters. I found the chapters on his humanitarian work dull and struggled to stay interested. Overall though, a good listen!

Much like U2’s music

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I have never been a fan of U2 but I do like some of their music. Bono has lived an amazing life and he used his influence to make a lot of wonderful things with his political influence. Thank god for people like him.

One remarkable person!

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Bono is old now, which is good, because his insight is now retrospective. He's also a very poetic individual.

exceeded expectations.

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For the fans of Bono and U2, this book will be very much enjoyed. I was hooked for the full 20hrs and hearing it narrated by Bono was perfect.

A wonderful book

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A very well written, interesting story encompassing much of Bono’s life in and out of U2. The love he has for his wife, children and extended family is very clear.

Excellent

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Much more than I thought it would be such a great storyteller not full of the usual tropes. Surprisingly great accents and impressions as well. Definitely worth a listen

Great storyteller

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