Books

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

Published by Rodale, 2006
POWELLS | AMAZON

New York Times Book Review: (July 23) “…Too scrupulous to ignore more nuanced shadings and contradictions… Carlin tells his story well and sensitively. Greil Marcus would be proud.” (Editor’s Choice, July 30)

People Magazine: (July 24) “Both a first-rate biography and a compelling social history about a generation’s loss of innocence. (4 stars)

Entertainment Weekly: (July 14) “Fans will be picking up excitations aplenty from this absorbing treatment of Brian Wilson. (Grade: A)

Boston Globe: (June 25) “Excellent… (Carlin) does a fine job, writing in a style flexible enough to accommodate the highs (many) and
the lows (even more) of the Beach Boys’ music.”

Chicago Tribune: (July 9) “Joins those music biographies that don’t simply clock a band’s rise to fame but show how its members developed their signature sound.”

The Times (London): (July 29) “Admirable… Carlin succeeds in getting close to Wilson’s emotional core and the story is never less than impressively marshalled and engagingly told.”

The Week: “A smart take on an important chapter in rock history.”

Ken Tucker (Entertainment Weekly): “Great evocations of a great musician and the pop group he built, via great prose”
 

Paul McCartney: A Life

Published by Simon & Schuster, 2009
POWELLS | AMAZON

Kirkus Reviews: "An excellent pop culture biography"  tracing McCartney's life from the Liverpool council estates to his current day life, way past 64.

People: "Carlin illuminates the complex man behind the myth." 

New York Times Book Review: "A lovingly researched, unauthorized biography."

The Onion/AV Club: "Carlin makes such a compelling case...reveals an icon whose instant fame hid many of the traits that made him brilliant and exasperating in equal measure. A fleet, engrossing read."

New York Post: "A must for Beatles completists." 

Toronto Globe & Mail: "Carlin's thrilling critique and keen knowledge of the songs is one of the book's greatest pleasures...a must read for anyone wanting fully to appreciate the contributions McCartney has made – and continues to make – to the history of pop music." 

The Sun (UK) "This well-researched biography offers additional insights....definitely worth a read."

Library Journal: "This is an ideal biography for the reader who wants a solid but fast-paced. . ., overview of McCartney's life and career."

Buffalo News: "Carlin writes with a sure hand, and favors a crisp prose that moves lithely across several decades of subject matter...an authoritative critique."

Gene Sculatti/Sonic Boomers: "Carlin is, unlike many biographers of musical figures, up to the task of telling this tale. He doesn't just get the facts and arrange them into a compelling narrative; he's a good rock critic."