The Greatest Book I’ve Ever Read

Everybody who knows me knows that I am a voracious reader. Literature is one of the greatest passions of my life, and reading is as much a necessity for me as breathing. I fly through books, savoring the ones I love, but always eager to read more. I have an endless curiosity about so many things, and tireless passion for the written word. Favorite books get revisited often, but not without the intermingling of frequent new adventures in reading.

All of this makes it all the more astonishing that at this time last year, one book completely stopped me in my tracks: God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys & the California Myth, by David Leaf. Thanks to Kindle, I was able to read it the day that it was first released in the United Kingdom. What I didn’t know was that for the rest of the year, I would read almost nothing else, just needing to constantly re-read and fully absorb this extraordinarily important text. Even this year, as I’ve begun to read other books again, I find myself constantly revisiting this one. It is not only my favorite book, but arguably the most important book I have ever read. If you had told me five years ago that it would replace Jane Eyre as my favorite book of all time, I would have suggested you needed to see a doctor.

In my mind, the legendary status of this text preceded my reading it. As I’ve written elsewhere, David Leaf’s name is ubiquitous when it comes to the world of Brian and the Beach Boys. From his remarkable liner notes for the twofers and box sets to his exceptional documentary, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE, and all points in between, his name is synonymous with quality storytelling about Brian Wilson and his music. This quickly became apparent to me as I began my own deep dive into the music and life of Brian. What also quickly became apparent, though, is that the puzzle I was constructing through my own research was missing one significant piece: the long out-of-print The Beach Boys and the California Myth (the original title for the book). Any time I ran across it online, it was priced well beyond what I could afford to pay. So I was very excited when the 2022 update was published last year, knowing that I would at long last have the opportunity to read something very, very special, and very, very important. What I found was beyond my wildest expectations. I read the book in two days. It was thoroughly captivating and emotionally engaging.

Originally published in 1978, and updated in 1985, this text is more than a mere biography of an extraordinary figure in musical history, a collection of information and anecdotes that comprise a life. David Leaf is no mere keeper of the facts which one could find anywhere else; rather, he is a keeper of the truth. The truth requires deeper insight, deeper reflection and analysis. The truth requires sensitivity, which is one of Leaf’s greatest qualities as the amazing storyteller that he is. This is precisely what made the original edition so stunning, and what makes the 2022 update so essential.

“This is the story of Brian Wilson…” So begins the book that is — shockingly — about…. Brian Wilson? Who would have expected that a book beginning with that sentence would focus so entirely and insightfully on its professed subject! Gentle sarcasm aside, the story of Brian Wilson is of singular importance. It is the story of the greatest composer of our time, and a story truly unique in music history. Without the music of Brian Wilson, there would have been no Beach Boys. Without the story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys would not have a story worth telling.

So it is fitting that Brian’s story is front and center across all editions of the text, most especially the 2022 update that saw his story transformed from a story of nearly unimaginable suffering to a tale of triumph and redemption. And most fortunately for the reader, this tale is told by someone who had a front-row seat and deep involvement in many of Brian’s most glorious moments. Without David Leaf, many of the most marvelous things that have happened for Brian Wilson the past thirty years would not have taken place. And how fortunate we are to be given the grand tour of those spectacular moments, with details we could not have learned elsewhere! It is no exaggeration to say that the size and substance of this update could easily have been a book of its own. Those who only read the 1978, or even the 1985, editions, are missing out significantly. And for those of us who weren’t around back then, and are only now able to read the book in its essentially unchanged form, the experience of reading is one of time travel, as Leaf’s engaging writing style drops us right into the narrative as he saw it each step of the way.

In light of all that, and when one considers the sheer size and magnitude of an update that was originally intended to be significantly shorter (thank God that the word count kept being extended!), it is not surprising that the scope of the 2022 update is limited to events that centered around Brian himself, and that Leaf himself witnessed or was involved in. Otherwise the book would certainly lose its focus. As it is, the stories and details revealed in this final update are extraordinarily revelatory.

Of such great importance is the story of Brian Wilson — and Leaf’s telling of it — that Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Barry Gibb, and Jimmy Webb all contributed notes to the beginning of the book. Jimmy Webb writes, “I love reading what David writes about Brian… almost as much as I love listening to Brian’s music.” I certainly am not going to disagree with so great a musical legend! And Sir Paul McCartney has never ceased to be a big deal, just about in a class by himself as far as musical greatness, so a note from him about the effect Brian’s music has on him goes a long way towards establishing just how important Brian Wilson is. And Sir Barry’s essay brings a tear to the eye.

Of course, it is worth noting that each of these figures have played an important role in Leaf’s career. Sir Paul gave him a marvelous interview in 1990 for the CD release of Pet Sounds. Leaf’s second book, as well as his first feature-length documentary, were about the Bee Gees. And he has worked with Jimmy Webb on a number of projects, including Leaf and Chip Rachlin’s dream-come-true, “An All Star Tribute To Brian Wilson” in 2001 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Yet, Leaf never name-drops for the sheer pleasure of it. Rather, the book is enriched with an added gravitas by the presence of such legendary figures.

Leaf’s career has been filled with exceptional work on great and legendary artists: The U.S. vs. John Lennon, The Night James Brown Saved Boston and dozens of other musical retrospectives and tributes (such as his marvelous program on Andy Williams, a program that meant the world to me when I was a child). Since 2010, he’s been a professor at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Everything he does reflects the quality and passion and commitment that was first evidenced in the original edition of this book back in 1978.

The thing that perhaps struck me the most is how the text, again, “essentially unchanged” from the previous editions, allows us to learn and grow with the author. During nearly every interview he gave last year about the book, David Leaf described himself as having been on a mission in 1978. He often describes the impact that Edward R. Murrow’s style of advocacy journalism had on him, and how that shaped his mission in telling Brian Wilson’s story. How he wanted to “grab the world by the collar” and get them to see what he saw: That Brian Wilson was suffering, often at the hands of others, and that something needed to be done. Leaf remained true to this mission in the 1985 update, although we already begin to see the development of his personal perception as he evaluates his previous perspective. In 2022, however, he is now looking back as an “elder statesman,” as he is fond of saying. And yet, it is clear, especially in the closing pages, as the book inevitably comes to an end (not that I ever wanted it to end!), that David Leaf’s passion for his subject is just as great today as it was in 1978 when he first published this incredible book.

There’s a reason that in 1985 one reviewer referred to it as “the Bible” for Beach Boys fans. As Leaf writes, he thinks of his original book as his “Old Testament” on Brian, and this enormous update as his “New Testament.” Given the depth of what he’s revealed in the podcast interviews I’ve heard, let’s hope it’s not his last testament on the subject.

If you don’t own it, you should. Its nearly 500 pages (and several dozen wonderful pictures) promise a bounty of insight into not just Brian Wilson but life itself.

You can order it at the links below.

In the US: https://amzn.to/3zNkbbp

In the UK: https://amzn.to/37YYBXf