The National's Boxer

Released in May 2007, The National's fourth full-length is the album that saved them. It's where the Ohio-via-Brooklyn five-piece found the sound, success and spiritual growth to become one of the most critically acclaimed bands of their time. Obsessively researched and featuring intimate interviews with the fighters who were there in the ring, Ryan Pinkard captures a transformative chapter in The National's story, revealing how their breakthrough album is deeply intertwined with their personal lives, the New York indie rock renaissance of the early aughts and a generational experience in America.

Author's Note
Cast of Characters
Introduction
1. Twenty-Nine Years
2. Underline Everything
3. Kitty Gets a Scratch
4. The Band in the Sidebar
5. The English Are Waiting
6. Clap Your Hands Say No
7. Don't Get Stuck in a Corner
8. Apartment Story
9. Bob Dylan Shat in My Room
10. Eeyore on Nyquil
11. Circling the Vortex
12. Waiting for Winter to Leave
13. Stay Down, Champion, Stay Down
14. Let Them All Have Your Neck
15. Signs of Hope and Change
16. That Same Desperate Struggle
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes