33 1/3

brings to light the ambition and artistry, the stress and frustration, and ultimately the joy of making this very special album."-Peter Katis, The National''s engineer, and mixer on Boxer “I am spooked by how well [Pinkard] has captured these characters and this madcap project. I am not sure how he did it.” -Carin Besser, co-lyricist on Boxer and wife to Matt Berninger “Accessible, perceptive, sometimes hilarious, but more often harrowing, Pinkard''s book gets a running start on its subject, tracing The National''s trajectory from their first notes together to the creation of Boxer.” -Stephen M. Deusner, music critic and author We all know the Boxer. The fighter who remembers every glove but still remains. That grisly, bruised American allegory who somehow gets up more times than he''s knocked down. This is the fight that nearly broke The National. The one that allowed them to become