The Beach Boys [Hardcover]

David Leaf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1985

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Courage Books; First Edition edition (1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894714120
• ISBN-13: 978-0894714122
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,018,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHEN is some smart publisher going to reissue this title?!, December 16, 2002

By 

L Goodman-Malamuth "Leslie Goodman-Malamuth" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beach Boys (Hardcover)

Arguably the best book on the Beach Boys ever written. I lucked into copies of both the 1978 and the updated 1985 editions at a lower price, and find them an invaluable, insightful, and empathetic look at "America's band."

David Leaf is a gifted and sensitive writer. If a used copy of his book is overly budget-busting, settle for "The Nearest Faraway Place," by the late great Timothy White. This book presents a fine overview of the migration to Southern California (including the Wilson brothers' grandparents), and how that generation's hopes and dreams helped mold their grandchildren's music.

That said, David Leaf's book is the real deal. Keep an eye out for it if you have any interest at all in the Beach Boys.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1985 edition expands on 1978 edition., September 15, 2009

By 

Greenlight (Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beach Boys (ISBN:0894714120) (Hardcover)

I'm looking at my 1985 edition, and I see that Leaf included 16 new pages of research compared to the 1978 edition. 192-207 was added for 1985.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book about the Beach Boys, February 7, 2012

By 

Chicago Bookworm (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Beach Boys (Hardcover)

David Leaf's book is not only the best about the Beach Boys, it's one of the best-ever reads about rock music. Leaf's ability to combine his deep appreciation for the band's music with an objective view of events is exemplary. This is a book written without an axe to grind against anyone, and it skillfully combines a larger, longer view of what happened with love and respect for what the Beach Boys, and particularly Brian Wilson, were able to achieve. It's insane that this book is out of print, but it's well worth what you'll have to pay for it. (I have the expanded 1985 edition, and I recommend it if you can get it.)

One of the book's strengths is the number of direct quotations from band members, collaborators, family members, and Capitol executives. Whenever possible, Leaf includes the words of the people most directly involved in an event, and he's scrupulous about giving everyone involved an opportunity to give his or her view. Leaf does offer his own interpretations of events, songs, and albums, but never in a heavy-handed way. He clearly feels empathy for the band members,especially for Brian Wilson, but doesn't shy away from describing their destructive behaviors. I also appreciated Leaf's detailing of Brian's work in the studio, and his focus on Brian's methods as arranger and producer. I came away from the book hearing more in the Beach Boys' music and with a better understanding of the work and suffering that went into creating it.

The pictures included throughout the book are another plus; they give a concrete sense of the band's development and of the environments they lived and worked in.

This is music writing as it should be: emotionally invested without being blind to the subject's faults, focused on the music with an eye to how external events and inner conflicts affected it. It's wonderful.