An intimate look at the life and music of modern pop’s most legendary figure, Taylor Swift, from leading music journalist Rob Sheffield.

HEARTBREAK IS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
by Rob Sheffield
Dey Street, August 2024
(via DeFiore & Company)

© Niki Kanodia

As Taylor Swift’s preferred and most trusted music journalist, Rob Sheffield has enjoyed closer access to the mega-star than any other writer working today. His unique insight has afforded him a singular perspective of Taylor’s world and her impact on the world. Inspired by his years of this exclusive access, and the Swiftie response to his commentary on their beloved Taylor, Sheffield merges reportage and criticism in a way that only he can.

At once one of the most beloved music figures of the past two decades and one of the most criticized, Taylor Swift is known as much for her life beyond her music as she is for her constant stream of hits—and most of all, how she uses the former to not only create the latter, but market and brand herself throughout the many “eras” of her career. At once both approachable and enigmatic, Taylor Swift has become a master of controlling the narrative surrounding her life and career while keeping fans eager to learn of her every next step.

In the tradition of Sheffield’s award-winning Dreaming the Beatles, Heartbreak Is the National Anthem will inform and delight a legion of fans who hang on every word from Taylor and every word Rob writes on her.

Rob Sheffield is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. He has been a rock critic and pop culture journalist for more than 15 years, and has appeared on various MTV and VH1 shows. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.