Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson

Book Description

Brian Wilson was the visionary behind Americas most successful and influential rock band. And as the leader of the Beach Boys, he sold 100 million records, produced Pet Sounds, and built a catalog of songs that continues to define the sound and feel of American popular music. He also became one of the cultures most mysterious and tragic figures. But after spending years lost in a wilderness of despair, Wilson has fought his way back to productivity. And now with the release of Smilethe masterwork that nearly undid himhe has returned to musics center stage. Now Peter Ames Carlin, who conducted in-depth, exclusive interviews with dozens of sources and listened to hundreds of hours of unreleased studio recordings and live music, tells a uniquely American story of the band, the music, and the culture the Beach Boys both sang about and helped create. Carlin brings a fans passion, a seasoned journalists objectivity, and a cultural critics insight to his subject, and the result is a magisterial and authoritative account of the Beach Boys visionary figure, who has emerged into a new era of creativity.

Customer Reviews:

Beach Boy fan's delight.......2007-07-28

This book adds more information to the saga of the legendary Beach Boys, Brian Wilson's angst and the constant push-pull between his creativity and the economic needs of the band and music industry. There are some surprising insights here that haven't been captured in any of the previous Beach Boys chronicles. Having attended some of the mid-70s Beach Boys comeback concerts, I can say they were just as thrilling as Carlin denotes. I enjoyed this book.

Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.......2007-07-18

I have to note that I am not a Beach Boys fan. I grew up listening to their music. I even know the words to quite a few of their songs. However, before reading this book, I didn't even know the names of the band members or have a clue about any of the band or band member's history.

My lack of intimate knowledge and fanaticism probably greatly reduced the enjoyment of this book for me. During the first few chapters of the book, I felt like I had walked in on a conversation part way through. I had no idea about the significance of the song Smile. By the end of the book, I did understand what the author had been talking about but at the time I was completely lost.

Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall & Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson is extremely detailed. Fans of The Beach Boys and of Brian Wilson will find this aspect extremely appealing. However, I think I probably would have done better with a less extensive biography. All the details were a little overwhelming, and because I didn't understand how these little things tied into the big picture, I found the material rather dry.

Summer Star Worship Fun.......2007-06-28

If you read the name Brian Wilson somewhere, chances are you'll be seeing the word "genius" in the same sentence. And, true enough, Wilson's songwriting and studio production was, at its peak, divinely inspired. But, like the Beatles, Wilson's glory days are long gone. Now its time to write books about him.

For the true believer, Carlin's book confirms the notion that Brian's muse was killed by the lust for lucre, personified by the despotic and very Republican Mike Love. It is a classic tale of purity dying at the feet of the Venal God. For the skeptic, Wilson is yet another young star whose success and attendant loss of self control, ruined his life.

For the reader, Catch a Wave is engaging enough, with new details and perspectives that should keep even the most well-versed Beach Boy fan interested. Carlin's coverage of Wilson's post-70s career, with his tentative return to the stage, and the completion and release of Smile, were particularly welcome highlights.

My only regret is I didn't read it at the beach.

This was well thought out, you will like it........2007-06-05

This was well thought out, you will like it.

Reviewed by Susan Helene Gottfried.......2007-06-01

Peter Ames Carlin has won awards for his media coverage of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. He is clearly an unabashed fan of the man and the band. Thus, his examination of Brian in the new Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson should have been a slam-dunk of a book.

Tracing the band by focusing on Brian from the early days in the 1960s to 2005, Carlin does tread familiar territory. It's impossible not to, given the fame of Wilson and the Beach Boys, not to mention the infamy of Wilson's dad Murry and the years Brian spent in the clutches of the controversial Dr. Eugene E. Landy. These two characters formed Brian's life as surely as his DNA did.

For years, Brian Wilson has been the subject of many a curious eye. Carlin attempts to get behind all of that and show us the truth.

It's a noble effort. However, for all but the most die-hard of Beach Boys fans, I'm afraid it falls short in a number of ways. This doesn't make it a fatal book for the casual fan; rather, it makes it a harder book.

For instance, most nonfiction narratives are written in a linear fashion. This happened, then that, and this was the result. However, Catch a Wave deviates from that pattern every so often. It's not uncommon for references to past events to return, leaving the reader wondering, "Hey, why wasn't this brought up back when the rest of the issue was explained?" It creates a confusion of time, so that readers are left uncertain of when things happen. One of the biggest areas of confusion, in fact, revolves around the release of the Smile album. I closed the book wondering if it had been released twice. Certainly, there being two albums with similar names -- Smile and Smiley Smile -- doesn't help the matter any, although that's obviously not Carlin's fault. He only reports on the band.

Reporting on the band is exactly what Carlin does, in fact. He handles the who, what, where, when, how, and why as deftly as you'd expect, given his resume. His narrative, other than being time-confused, reads quite nicely. Yet there is a distance from the people Carlin is speaking about; this either works for the reader or it doesn't. Me, I'd have preferred a more in-depth character, so that I felt as though I know them, especially given how odd Brian Wilson's behaviors often are.

If there is one area in which Carlin deserves high praise, it is his ability to remain neutral about what transpires among the band and within Wilson's life. Yes, you'd expect that of a seasoned journalist, yet Carlin is an unabashed fan, even going so far as to insert his own meetings with the band into his narrative. This sort of adoration often allows for judgments to be passed, particularly concerning the controversy surrounding so much of Brian Wilson's life. Certainly, as I read, I wanted to know how these people could keep making the same mistakes so many times. Yet Carlin avoids this question because to acknowledge it involves him standing on his opinions.

Overall, this is a worthy companion for a devoted Beach Boys fan. Keeping the focus on Brian Wilson and the way he engages and retreats from the band he made famous makes for a fascinating portrait. Tracing his spirals in and out of musical genius is a compelling subject.

But for a new or merely casual fan who wants to learn about this iconic band, there are better books for dipping your toes into the surf

CATCH A WAVE: THE RISE, FALL AND REDEMPTION OF THE BEACH BOYS' BRIAN WILSON.

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CATCH A WAVE: THE RISE, FALL AND REDEMPTION OF THE BEACH BOYS' BRIAN WILSON.
Peter Ames. Carlin
Manufacturer: Rodale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A great read

The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln's Army; Glory Road; a Stillness At Appomattox (Volumes 1, 2, and 3)

Manufacturer: DOUBLEDAY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Bruce Catton's Civil War: Boxed 3 Volume Set

This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War

Grant Takes Command

A Stillness at Appomattox: The Army of the Potomac Trilogy (Army of the Potomac, Vol 3)

The Civil War: A Narrative (3 Volume Set)

ASIN: B000CBO9RW

Product Description

Three volume set. DoubleDay book club edition.

Customer Reviews:

A great read.......2006-04-17

I'm definately no book critic, I can only say this is one of the most absorbing books I've ever read (3 books actually). It is written in the style of the best fiction, fast paced and fun to read, not anything close to a chore. Bruce Catton was extremely immersed in a mountain of information about the Civil War, as much as if he'd been there living it firsthand. The result is that reading these books is like living through it with him. The focus of the book is the Army Of The Potomac and their fights with the Army Of Northern Virginia (Lee, Jackson, Sheridan, etc.), as well as the politics and social climate behind the scenes. Not much is covered about the southern battles of the other armies. The ineptitude of the northern generals is well explained, plus the skill of the southern generals who uncharacteristically blundered by trying to go north at Antietam and Gettysburg.

Two Roads to Sumter: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and the March to the Civil War

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Lincoln and Davis - A Brilliant Study In Contrasts

Two Roads to Sumter: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and the March to the Civil War
William Catton , and Bruce Catton
Manufacturer: Phoenix Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Team of Rivals

ASIN: 1842122908

Book Description

Using the early lives and careers of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis as theme and framework, two of America's finest historians outline each step in the tragic march to the Civil War. By showing how these two major figures--both Kentucky-born--developed divergent attitudes, the Cattons simultaneously reveal why the North and South became increasingly isolated from each other during the 1850s, and why war became inevitable. Also captured: the epic sweep of the era, with its great new railroads, land-hungry westward expansion, and developing industrial and agricultural empires.

Customer Reviews:

Lincoln and Davis - A Brilliant Study In Contrasts.......2005-10-05

By the Grand Master of American Historians, the late Bruce Catton and his son William.

In "Two Roads to Sumter" the Cattons brilliantly analyze how the Kentucky roots of both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis molded their character and their Allegiance to the Union, but also why those two great men chose to walk down different roads in the quest of keeping the United States united.

Always thought of as a kind, gentle man - which he indeed was, Lincoln nonetheless emerges from the Catton work as someone in the Sam Waterston (himself a Lincoln admirer of great standing) lawyer role on "Law and Order" - passionate, yet a pragmatist - and someone who was willing to compromise as he was to stand firm on principle. Lincoln detested Slavery, and was willing to do all he could to preserve the Union - but he chose to be pragmatic in those crucial, fatal months between the outcome of the 1860 election and the firing on Fort Sumter - staying quiet up to the inauguration, and appearing to be uncertain in those last two months before Beauregard gave the order to open fire. David Detzer in "Allegiance" has criticized the great man for this approach, submitting to the reader that a Jacksonian approach to the South might have prevented war.

But - it might have forced the "war hawks" hands much sooner, and that point is well taken by the Cattons. Their premise is that the South was ready and willing to go to war - and might have felt that way from the Kansas-Nebraska Act on. Unlike Detzer, the Cattons applaud Lincoln for staying the course, and being the brave and true man he was.

By contrast Jefferson Davis - who was described by Sam Houston as being as "ambitious as Lucifer" - and with his pointed beard even bore a sad resemblance to him, comes off better than he has at the hands of other historians. The Cattons were among the first to show that while Davis was uncompromising in his views on Slavery and state's rights, he was a fervent believer in the Union who unlike Lincoln had actually shed blood in battle for this nation. They describe his outstanding tenure as Secretary of War in Franklin Pierce's administration; his role in the Gadsen Purchase, in establishing the Camel Corps, in urging the building of railroads across the country. In all this Davis took the high road of country first, region second, even if he was also bettering the South.

When push came to shove however, Lincoln chose the Union, while Davis eventually became an uncompromising acolyte of secession and the south as a separate entity, even if his initial decision to leave the U.S. Senate and declare for a Confederacy was a reluctant one.

An immensely readable history of the story of two Americans - Lincoln and Davis, and the events leading up to the Civil War. To be placed alongside the three great titles on Secession and Fort Sumter - Detzer's "Allegiance"; Swanberg's "First Blood", and Klein's "Days of Defiance".

Lincoln Motor Cars 1920-1942 Photo Archive: Photographs from the Detroit Public Library's National Automotive History C (Photo Archive Series)

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Lincoln Motor Cars 1920-1942 Photo Archive: Photographs from the Detroit Public Library's National Automotive History C (Photo Archive Series)
Mark Patrick
Manufacturer: Iconografix, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1882256573

Book Description

From Henry Lelands earliest Lincolns to the magnificent V-12s and Edsel Fords Continental, this gathering of photographs from the Detroit Public Librarys National Automotive History Collection illustrates the elegance of one of Americas most prestigious automobiles. Also includes factory and custom-built bodies.

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The Long Road to Gettysburg
Jim Murphy
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618051570

Book Description

A description of the Battle of Gettysburg as seen through the eyes of nineteen-year-old Confederate lieutenant John Dooley and seventeen-year-old Union soldier Thomas Galway.

One Man Great Enough: Abraham Lincoln's Road to Civil War

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One Man Great Enough: Abraham Lincoln's Road to Civil War
John C. Waugh
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0151010714

Book Description

How did Abraham Lincoln, long held as a paragon of presidential bravery and principled politics, find his way to the White House? How did he become this one man great enough to risk the fate of the nation on the well-worn but cast-off notion that all men are created equal?

Here award-winning historian John C. Waugh takes us on Lincoln’s road to the Civil War. From Lincoln's first public rejection of slavery to his secret arrival in the capital, from his stunning debates with Stephen Douglas to his contemplative moments considering the state of the country he loved, Waugh shows us America as Lincoln saw it and as Lincoln described it. Much of this wonderful story is told by Lincoln himself, detailing through his own writing his emergence onto the political scene and the evolution of his beliefs about the Union, the Constitution, democracy, slavery, and civil war. Waugh brings Lincoln’s path into new reliefby letting the great man tell his own story, at a depth that brings us ever closer to understanding this mysterious, complicated, truly great man.

Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865

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The Author is My Highschool English Teacher
A decent overview, despite the use of apocryphal quotes
An excellent source about traveling a hard road.
A Long, Deserving Road
Superb history

Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865
William K. Klingaman
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America

ASIN: 0142000434

Book Description

In this comprehensive account of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, William K. Klingaman takes a fresh look at what is arguably the most controversial reform in American history. Taking the reader from Lincoln's inauguration through the Civil War to his tragic assassination, it uncovers the complex political and psychological pressures facing Lincoln in his consideration of the slavery question, including his decision to issue the proclamation without consulting any member of his cabinet, and his meticulous attention to every word of the document. The book concludes with a discussion of what the Emancipation Proclamation really meant to four million newly freed blacks and its subsequent impact on race relations in America.

"Lincoln emerges from this study . . . as an astute, troubled and effective defender of the Union." (Publishers Weekly)

"[Klingaman] draws a fascinating portrait of Lincoln's political maneuvering during his first two years in office. . . . A fine account of a brilliant piece of political strategy." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Tightly focused and engagingly written." (Library Journal)

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Customer Reviews:

The Author is My Highschool English Teacher.......2006-10-23

As my title says, Dr. William K. Klingaman was my 11th grade AP American History teacher, and is currently my AP English 12 teacher. The book itself I had used as a source to write a huge paper on Lincoln in 10th grade, which took the whole year. Well, it was endlessly useful. Im fact, the paper earned me a 93- no small feat considering how difficult a class it was. Then 11th grade came, and I realised that I had quoted my future Social Studies teacher. A fabulous teacher, I might add. Witty, great sense of humor, interesting lecturer. He gives THE hardest multiple choice tests a person could ever take, though. ;-)

A decent overview, despite the use of apocryphal quotes.......2005-02-12

In one of the most readable accounts available about Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War, Klingaman focuses on the Emancipation Proclamation and how Lincoln reached the decision to issue it. The author's thesis is twofold: that the Great Emancipator's primary goal was to save the Union from division and, as a result, that his decision to issue the proclamation, when he did, was based almost entirely on strategic and political factors rather than on moral grounds: "By emancipating the Confederacy's slaves as a war measure--and not as an act of justice toward the Negro--Lincoln subordinated the ideal of freedom to the preservation of the Union."

Klingaman's conclusion, of course, is hardly novel; most historians and general-interest writers (for example, James Baldwin) have always assumed as much. (This claim should not, however, be confused with the ongoing debate over whether the Civil War itself was caused primarily by the institution of slavery.) The author's aim here, then, is to moderate the popular image of Lincoln as a humanitarian saint while recognizing his worth as a stalwart, compassionate, and even apprehensive leader. A byproduct of Lincoln's wartime measure, emancipation was only the first (albeit significant) step in the struggle for equal rights in America: "Freedom would be won by the descendants of slaves, not bestowed upon them by whites."

The quibbles I have with the book are with the author's use of evidence. While Klingaman acknowledges in a bibliographical note that "a great deal of myth has become mixed with the fact" of Lincoln's life, he does little to sort the legend from the man. He indiscriminately blends Lincoln's words as recorded by such impeccably reliable sources as John Hay with writings by less dependable--and even suspect--observers, such as the portrait painter Francis Carpenter (who embarked on a career drawing from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of allegedly firsthand Lincoln sayings and tales). In nearly every case, however, Klingaman presents secondhand sayings and speeches as if they were Lincoln's exact words, transcribed on the spot, even though many of these are embedded as paraphrased recollections in accounts recorded twenty or thirty years after Lincoln died.

An additional sixty-odd quotes are taken from Dan and Virginia Fehrenbacher's "The Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln," which, as Klingaman notes, "attempts to gauge the reliability of several hundred contemporary witnesses who claim to have recorded Lincoln's words." The Fehrenbachers rank the quotes from A (direct quotation recorded contemporaneously) to E (probably not authentic). Klingaman wisely avoids the least reliable quotes, but over half are direct and indirect paraphrases from months or years or decades later (which the Fehrenbachers have awarded a rank of C or D). These include a joke about interracial marriage attributed to Lincoln by a satirist known by the name of Petroleum V. Nasby, who was recalling the incident thirty years later; a speech allegedly delivered by Lincoln, recalled by Edward Stanly twenty years later in a report labeled by the Fehrenbachers as "self-serving, politically motivated, and chronologically erroneous"; a recollection by the minister Rudolph Schleiden ("it seems clear that Schleiden did not himself hear Lincoln speak these words," according to the Fehrenbachers); and two excerpts from a lengthy monologue attributed to Lincoln by Gideon Welles that is "a combination of Lincoln core and Welles elaboration."

One cannot entirely fault Klingaman for using these various quotations in a popular account, since many of them are quite colorful and most of them may well be accurate in their essence. The problem is the lack of proper identification. In each one of the previous examples, Klingaman does not name the mouthpiece for these "sayings," nor does he assess their reliability, nor does he even indicate, in the text or the notes, that these quotes are second- or third-hand (e.g., "Years later, Stanly claimed that Lincoln told him that..."). Surely, accurately represented quotations are essential in a biographical account concerning itself primarily with Lincoln's personal motives, intellectual growth, and political development.

Nevertheless, the book's portrayal of the events of the Civil War is largely accurate and, in spite of my serious reservations about the author's use of sources, even his characterization of Lincoln, in its broadest strokes, seems true to life. Although this volume will not satisfy those readers with a broad knowledge of Lincoln and the Civil War (and it should be approached cautiously by students), it's still a worthy introduction to the subject.

An excellent source about traveling a hard road........2004-10-03

Author William Klingman has written an excellent book about Lincoln's development and issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Klingman brings forward the birth of the concept and how Lincoln faced so much aversion to its release. The book clearly illustrates how difficult such a task was to complete it and also how well it was received.

Besides the opposition in the South, Northern opposition towards the war and constant defeats were making many question Lincoln's ability to be the President. Faced with horrible Union defeats and lackluster leadership Lincoln understands that in order to defeat the Confederacy there has to be considered the issue of freeing the slaves for political and moral reasons. Through out the book, the opposition from both Republican, Democratic and various groups are clearly defined while Lincoln debates within himself as to what is the proper procedure is to handling the freeing of slaves.

It was very interesting to read about the many variables and choices Lincoln had to make while fighting multiple political battles and growing unrest in the northern states. Eventually Lincoln does get the proclamation passed and part of the book describes in detail just how this new era unfolds and how blacks become soldiers and deal with being free.

To understand Lincoln, the political unrest of the time and also the birth and issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, I highly recommend this book. Klingman writes and chronologically carries the book very well.

A Long, Deserving Road.......2003-02-16

William Klingaman's book, "Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation" traces the personal and social development of emancipation in the the 1860s in a refreshing and enlightening way.

By blending both historical events, with the inner turmoil of Lincoln, Klingaman sheds new light on the processes that lead to the historical proclaimation. The Lincoln in this book is torn between his desire to do what is right vs. what he perceives his Constitutional duties. Klingaman doesn't shy away from the reality that Lincoln initially didn't favor emancipation over saving the union, but embraces his struggle and his eventual turn around. This allows for a more dynamic, interesting Lincoln to shine through. Lincoln would finally do the right thing, which we come to understand the depth and complexity of his decision.

For Lincoln fans, for people with a casual interest, I highly recommend this book for a new view on an incredible man during incredible times.

Superb history.......2002-03-31

Engrossing and lucid, Mr. Klingaman has written a superb book on a subject that is given little scrutiny. Filled with anecdotes and witticisms this book should be read by those who are sick of the usual fat best sellers.

The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln's War/.Glory Road/A Stillness At Appomattox

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The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln's War/.Glory Road/A Stillness At Appomattox
Bruce Catton
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVYWAK

Civil War Classics: Mr. Lincoln's Army; Glory Road; A Stillness at the Appomattox

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Civil War Classics: Mr. Lincoln's Army; Glory Road; A Stillness at the Appomattox

Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000CIMVZC

Product Description

3 volume LEATHER BOUND set accented in 22kt gold! ! ! Titles inculde: Mr. Lincoln's Army; Glory Road; a Stillness At Appomattox

Civil War: (3 volumes in 1) Mr. Lincoln's Army, Glory Road, A Stilness at Appomattox

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Civil War: (3 volumes in 1) Mr. Lincoln's Army, Glory Road, A Stilness at Appomattox
Bruce Catton
Manufacturer: The Fairfax Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IN7BY2

Lincoln's Quest for Equality: The Road to Gettysburg

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Lincoln's Quest for Equality: The Road to Gettysburg
Carl F. Wieck
Manufacturer: Northern Illinois University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0875802990

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