Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story

In Surrender, Bono uses 40 songs to tell his story. It almost works. Some songs are well connected to the episode. Others are great tangents. The book sort of follows a chronology, but does jump around at times. There is plenty of coverage of U2's experience as a band and some of the struggles of Bono and others, along with some of his own personal experiences. 

Activism, especially with regards to African poverty is covered extensively. One very important thing learned in the process is to seek commonality even with those that you don't seem to agree. (An early example was given of black leaders dispising Robert Kennedy, but later finding common ground to work towards civil rights.) Bono had worked hard to cultivate a relationship with George Bush and his administration to achieve funding for Africa. He also began to learn from the administration the benefits of governance and economic growth. From Africans themselves, he learned that the "White Messiah" can be harmful. Eliminating poverty in poor countries requires active participation from those residents also.

The audiobook does include fragments of each of the songs discusses which is very helpful.