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Surrender by Bono

40 SONGS, ONE STORY BY BONO

Image of book cover Surrender by Bono

BONO'S MEMOIR IN HIS WORDS

New York Times Bestseller

Sunday Times Bestseller

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.

"When I started to write this book, I was hoping to draw in detail what I’d previously only sketched in songs. The people, places, and possibilities in my life. Surrender is a word freighted with meaning for me. Growing up in Ireland in the seventies with my fists up (musically speaking), it was not a natural concept. A word I only circled until I gathered my thoughts for the book. I am still grappling with this most humbling of commands. In the band, in my marriage, in my faith, in my life as an activist. Surrender is the story of one pilgrim’s lack of progress. . . With a fair amount of fun along the way.” —Bono

As one of the music world’s most iconic artists and the cofounder of the 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 fourteen, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than twenty 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 forty chapters, which are each named after a U2 song. Bono has also created forty original drawings for Surrender, which will appear throughout the book.

Bono Beacon tour dates

Stories of Surrender: Tour

Join Bono, live on stage, for an evening of words, music and some mischief. Every ticket sold includes a copy of SURRENDER: 40 Songs, One Story.

Apr 16 2023 (Sun)
New York, NY
Beacon Theatre
8:00 PM EST
Apr 17 2023 (Mon)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
Apr 21 2023 (Fri)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
Apr 22 2023 (Sat)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
Apr 26 2023 (Wed)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
Apr 28 2023 (Fri)
New York, NY
Beacon Theatre
8:00 PM EST
Nov 29 2022 (Tue)
New York, NY
Beacon Theatre
8:00 PM EST
May 3 2023 (Wed)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
May 4 2023 (Thu)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
May 7 2023 (Sun)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
May 8 2023 (Mon)
New York, NY
Beacon Theater
8:00 PM EST
May 13 2023 (Sat)
Naples, Italy
Teatro San Carlo Napoli
8:00 PM EST

Animations

These original animations — excerpted from the Surrender audiobook, and Illustrated and narrated by Bono himself — depict key moments from Bono's life, such as his 18th birthday, his wedding day, and the day U2 was born.

Out of Control

It's Bono's 18th birthday, and his dad wants him to get a job, but he only wants to listen to the Ramones.

Two Hearts Beat As One

1982, Dublin. Bono reminisces about the day he married his soulmate, Ali.

Song for Someone

Bono describes U2's first practice session in Larry’s kitchen, the day the "baby band" took its first steps.

Audiobook

Listen to clips from the Surrender audiobook, narrated by Bono!

Chapter 3: "Iris, Hold Me Close"

Chapter 9: "Invisible"

Chapter 15: "Where the Streets Have No Name"

Chapter 18: "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses"

Chapter 26: "The Showman"

Alfred A. Knopf is proud to partner with these international publishers for the worldwide publication of Surrender. It will also be available in the following countries:

UK and Ireland Hutchinson Heinemann, Canada Doubleday Canada, Spain and Latin America Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, Germany Verlagsgruppe Droemer Knaur, France Les Editions Fayard, Brazil Editora Intrinseca, Portugal Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, Italy Mondadori Libri, Poland Wydawnictwo Agora, Finland Tammi Publishers, Denmark Kristeligt Dagblads Forlag, Sweden Bokförlaget Polaris AB, Norway Cappelen Damm,  The Netherlands A.W. Bruna Uitgevers

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