"Pet Sounds is, rightly, one of the most celebrated pop albums ever released. It has also been written about, pored over, and analyzed more than most other albums put together. In this disarming book, Jim Fusilli focuses primarily on the emotional core of the album, on Brian Wilson’s pitch-perfect cry of despair. In doing so, he brings to life the search for equilibrium and acceptance that still gives Pet Sounds its heart almost four decades after its release.
For all the ups and downs, the scandals and, finally, the good times that are associated with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, nothing can diminish the beauty of Pet Sounds – its sense of adventure, its insight into the boundless mysteries of young love and how all its elements seem to coalesce to lay bare an insecure teen confronted by the uncertainties of adulthood, a man who wishes life were as simple as he believed it once was. More than a wonderful work that has easily withstood the test of time, Pet Sounds raises pop to the level of art through its musical sophistication and the precision of its statement which, taken together, celebrate the fulfillment of Brian Wilson’s ambition."
"A smart, sophisticated mystery involving theft and bizarre characters, set in New York City.
Marley Z. is a hip, outgoing, and confident New York City kid just starting eighth grade. When her best friend is accused of stealing a priceless violin on display at The Juilliard School, Marley steps in to prove her friend's innocence. So begins her mad dash around the city-from the Metropolitan Museum, to stately doormen buildings, to a violin teacher's artsy brownstone, to her favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant.
Suspects and motives appear and vanish, but intrepid Marley won't stop until she has the right answers. Smart, quick, and lively, this book introduces a great new detective and the city she loves."
"A man alone takes to the road following the brutal murder of his wife. After years lost to drifting and isolation—except for the comfort of the kind of women he cannot deny—he finds himself swept into a world of violence and danger, his life in the hands of a madman. Freed by an unexpected savior, he returns to the road, still a haunted man who remains the target of his estranged daughter’s scorn.
But as he wanders from the red-rock spires of Arizona to Sun Studios in Memphis, he succumbs to sordid temptation—and is soon accused of murder. To clear himself, he must find the real killer, unaware that his nemesis, a Wall Street power broker, is manipulating him from afar and has unleashed a killer on his trail—and the trail of his daughter.
The second novel in the Sam series, Jim Fusilli’s Billboard Man pulls the drifter off the long, dark road once again—long enough for him to find that the world is small when so many people want him dead."
"For years the drifter haunted the background of American life, roaming the side streets and highways that crisscross this vast country. Cool and handsome, with a single teardrop scar and a knack for silence that keeps the world at bay, he is a man alone.
That all changes on a rainy night in Chicago, when he witnesses a brutal assault on a young woman. By the time he reaches her, the assailant is gone, leaving a trail that is all too easy to follow. But playing the good Samaritan may be more trouble than it’s worth, when his moment of conscience hurls him into a shadowy world of violence, intrigue and deception.
Caught between duty to his fellow man and the anonymity of life on the road, the Samaritan could walk away. But when his estranged teenage daughter is threatened, he will make his choice—and never look back. By turns violent and insightful, this suspenseful novel from acclaimed journalist and author Jim Fusilli introduces an unforgettable hero to the ranks of contemporary American fiction."
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