“A colorful montage of stories about and photographs of American rock band The Hold Steady, by both members of the group as well as dedicated fans . . . A must-have for admirers of the band and a good choice to fans of bar rock.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Plenty of rock bands treat their fans like congregants. But not many shine a light on the arrangement. Fewer still go as far as The Hold Steady, whose lead vocalist and lyricist, Craig Finn, has a disarming way of combining humility and exultation.”
—New York Times

“There’s a very short list of contemporary American songwriters who would also make wonderful short story writers and The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn is on it. As virtuosic chroniclers of a Midwestern demimonde that gives lie to the pervasive myth of the wholesome heartland, The Hold Steady has earned its place as one of the great American rock bands of the 21st century. And now, in The Gospel of The Hold Steady, the storytellers will have their story told, through essays, firsthand oral histories, and over 200 photographs. A must-have for both Hold Steady diehards and rock and roll fans of all persuasions.”
—LitHub, 25 Nonfiction Books You Need to Read This Summer

“Cowritten with the band by the British rock journalist Michael Hann . . . How a Resurrection Really Feels is a compendium as much as a single narrative. Interspersed between chapters are testimonials from notable fans—authors Rob Sheffield and Isaac Fitzgerald, for example—and the book’s final third is given over to a slew of fans recruited from the ranks of the Unified Scene, the band’s online community.”
—MPR’s “The Current”

“I’ve gladly embraced the gospel of The Hold Steady for the last seventeen years even if I’ve never quite invested in knowing much more than the joy their music brings me. Until now—until the publication of The Gospel of The Hold Steady. Can a non-fan enjoy it? Yes, because the pleasure The Hold Steady always brings is there on the pages in both their words and the photos—it’s palpable—and you feel like you’re part of something just by reading what’s in front of you. I would add that it’s those interstitial pieces which really brought it all home for me—particularly the piece by the author Isaac Fitzgerald titled ‘Always Meet Your Heroes.'”
—LitReactor

“There has always been something cinematic about the Hold Steady, and that sense of rough-and-tumble beauty is lovingly captured in The Gospel of The Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels by Michael Hann and The Hold Steady . . . Some members of that fan base contribute essays to How a Resurrection Really Feels, among them Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield. But the most resonant words come from the band, who describe the creation of albums like The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me and attempt to rationalize their place in the popular music landscape.”
—Film Stage

“The Gospel of The Hold Steady is a wonderful tribute to the band and the fans who’ve been behind them. Author Michael Hann has done a bang-up job of coordinating the elements that make this book such a cool offering . . . Like The Hold Steady band itself, the book is joint effort aimed toward the greater good. Which, in this case, is to recognize a group that deserves recognition in the landscape of American rock music.”
—WRIF Radio (Detroit)

“The Gospel of The Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels is a gorgeously presented oral history that details everything from the band’s earliest days to its gradual development of an international fanbase that functions more as a tight knit family than as a mere audience. Written by the band and Michael Hann this beautiful hardcover tome features more than 200 photos and images to help tell the tale.”
—Joel Gausten