Rating: 
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: I have always loved the Beach Boys music. Only in the last 6 months have I been interested in learning about the group as individuals, etc. I read "Heroes and Villains" by Steven Gaines first. I found the book very informative, with no sugar coating. Next I got this book to read.I can't tell you how disappointing this book was to me. Do I care to read about the grandparents and their lives in Kansas, and how they migrated to Southern California? The furthest back I want to go is to Murry and Audrey, maybe a brief summary of their upbringings, how they met, married, bore their three talented sons - and then off we go from there. I don't care about a long, detailed description of the vegetation and climate of Kansas OR California. Just give me the feel of the place, ok? I tried to read this book page for page, but I could not do it. I found myself turning the pages until I saw at least one of the Beach Boys names, and read whatever it said about them. Also I was very disappointed that this book concentrated so much on Brian and pushed Carl and Dennis into the background. Of course Brian was the songwriting brains behind the group, but without the help of his brothers (especially the inspiration Dennis provided for the writing of surfing songs and the Southern California myth), and the other members, Brian probably would have been just another "genius" songwriter who never got his recognition. I also felt that Mr. White went into long needless detours with characters whose impact on the Beach Boys was minimal, if at all. I would give this book two stars, but I cannot do it for one main reason. Towards the end of the book (page 339 of the hardback copy to be exact) Mr. White writes that Dennis Wilson is "the youngest Wilson brother"... This man wrote a book about the Beach Boys and didn't even bother to find out that Brian is the oldest son, Dennis the middle, and Carl the youngest? No excuses.
Rating: 
Summary: An In-depth study of the Wilson Evolution
Review: I have read many a book on Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. But I found this title taken from 20/20s Bruce Johnston song of the same name, a bit rehashed from past works. We look at the generations of the Wilson klan from the turn of the century, and thier story. Thier story is one that's pretty. It's obvious that Brian Wilsons problems stem from the abusive character that was his grandfather;but is anybody really THAT interested? This book is meant for the hardcore fan, the fan who has paid-in-full dues to the Brian Wilson Appreciation Society. Musically it doesn't gain any ground. On historical standpoint, however, it does offer a glimpse of the family's personal side. And it is with this, that it becomes seemingly disparaging.
Rating: 
Summary: The best of them all.
Review: I read "Nearest Faraway Place on a business trip to Rome and it is one of the best books I've read. I enjoyed the format very much. The blending of the current events to the story was great. Being a longtime BB fan and having read everything in print, this book is the best of them all.
Rating:
Summary: Super Enlightening
Review: I read this book first after seeing a favorable comment about it from Carnie Wilson, Brian's daughter, and how much she learned about her own family. It was really a fantastic read and taught so much about the music, an incredible amount about California history, and the explanation of the family too and what they went through to even get to California. Since then other people said to me that this book is the right one to read, not the gossipy, putdown books and stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Ambitious but uneven
Review: If you're interested in the early 20th-century westward migration, and in the early 60's surf and car culture, the first half of this book will be useful to you. As a history of the band, however, it's spotty at best, especially post-1970: an enthusiastic track-by-track review of 1970's "Sunflower" album is followed, not by discussion of the "Carl & The Passions" and "Holland" albums (which it doesn't even mention) but a capsule history of the discovery of polyurethane skateboard wheels and the revival of that sport. If you really want to know what was on every page of a newspaper from Hutchison, Kansas, circa 1910, then you'll probably like this book. White does seem to love the band, at least. Seek out his "How Deep Is The Ocean?" for a more satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: Spirit of America
Review: In the act of creating a grand mosaic of the world the Beach Boys grew up in and shared, the full explanation of what befell them surfaces for once. Hooray! When I got this book from another Beach Boys bud, I never ever knew there had been big emotional victims in the Wilson family prior to Brian. Or that all sorts of other talents and interests had been inherited, too. Never before was the town of Hawthorne made sense of, either. Who knew what teen culture was like there in the 1950s? It was wild to get the day to day explanations. To see how Dennis and Carl, not to mention Brian, chose or got forced onto the roads in life they took. Surprises wait on each page. To ultimately feel so close to the family is a victory. Understanding So.California on up-close and personal terms is gratifying, also. This explicates sensitive people, a community and a microcosm in the detail it merits. It all makes sense.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, poignant
Review: Like all great non-fiction, Timothy White's book is more than than a recounting of facts: it is literature. The Nearest Faraway Place tells us both the story of the Beach Boys and the society that shaped them. White's style is entertaining and authoritative. And, as always, his research is impeccable. A must read for Beach Boy fans and students of American culture.
Rating:
Summary: Too much information ?
Review: Not if you are a true Beach Boys fan. If you think you know it all, think again. This book is so chock full of information you will find yourself reading it 2 maybe 3 times. It begins with the Wilsons migrating to Cailfornia. Tells how they settled, found jobs, all the way up to the births of the Wilson sons along with Mike. Then it takes off without missing a beat. You will picture yourself being there from the very begining. You'll get a good sence of California as well as the group. You'll also end up hating Murray's father Buddy more than Murray. Kind of makes you almost feel sorry for Murray. The only minor dissapointment was White ( Rock veteran Timothy White of Rolling Stone Magazine ) didn't dabble in the Manson stuff. I know, I know probably with good reason, but it is interesting. Enjoy !
Rating:
Summary: The standard in music journalism
Review: Only a handful of rock biographies have made the effort to place a band in its social, familial and historical context. The Beach Boys were America's greatest band in the sixties and this brilliantly researched exegesis tells the story of Brian Wilson's genius as well as such a mysterious phenomenon can ever be explained. In the process, it also tells the story of Southern California: both the escapist myth that came alive in the music of the Beach Boys, and the bizarre reality of a subculture that could nurture and destroy such creativity. Timothy White is the standard in music journalism.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Portrait of Wilson's California, But Lacking Insight
Review: Readers will do well to remember the subtitle of this book: "Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience." White wonderfully evokes the California Brian Wilson grew up in and how that California shaped the direction Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys followed. Indeed, we see how the Beach Boys were very much a product of that California. White is at his best in the formation and early years of the Beach Boys. He clearly fleshes out the people and the events that influenced and shaped them. White alludes to Brian Wilson's need to escape the influences, to push the band beyond surf and sand and hot rods, but he never fleshes out this part of the story. By the time we get to the late sixties, White seems rushed to finish his story. In the previous pages, White had chased every diversion and brought it into relief, but by mid book he glosses over events. As a result, we get very little insight into the workings of the Beach Boys during what was perhaps Brian Wilson's most creative era, the era of "Pet Sounds," "Smile," and "20/20." The last third of the book is rather disappointing. Whereas White had brought the people and events of the early fifties and sixties surrounding the Beach Boys into relief, White relies instead upon his subjects' own words. Consequently, the last chapters read more like summaries of interviews with Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson than the serious biography of the book's first two-thirds. As a result, Brian Wilson becomes a parody nebulously floating about in the background of the pages. In some places, White's transitions are not the smoothest, and readers may question why certain material is where it is. For example, White writes about the reemergence of skateboarding during the late seventies, explaining quite well how new wheel designs allowed boards to go faster. The next paragraph returns to Brian Wilson, and the reader understands that the material is important to White's tracing of the sport from its early years and its impact on the "Southern California" experience, yet the material has nothing to do with the previous or subsequent paragraphs. White's book is a good history of the the band and its leader, and while not without structural problems, it is fairly well crafted and very well written. Indeed, readers will find White's style smooth and flowing. Those looking for insight into Brian Wilson's artistic vision, however, may be disappointed.
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