The Ghost of Tom Joad guitar work and the lyrics on many of the tracks are a somber reflection of life in the mid-1990s in America and Mexico. The character of Tom Joad entered the American consciousness in John Steinbeck’s 1939 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Grapes of Wrath", set against the economic hardships of the Great Depression. This spawned a film version starring Henry Fonda, which in turn inspired folk singer Woody Guthrie to pen "The Ballad of Tom Joad". The album's release was followed by Springsteen's solo acoustic Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, which ran from 1995 to 1997 and consisted of mostly small
The Famous Five (novel series) Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls" features "The Famous Five Go Pillaging", – a short story which parodies the writing style of Enid Blyton; five children witness the collapse of Roman imperialism and their friends and family are slaughtered by 9000 invading Vikings. Website The Daily Mash reported a lost Blyton manuscript titled "Five Go Deporting Gypsies". A spoof series of five books was published in November 2016. The books are titled "Five Give Up the Booze", "Five Go Gluten Free", "Five Go On A Strategy Away Day", "Five Go Parenting" and "Five on Brexit Island". In Nov 2017,