The Beach Boys have had more Top 40 singles than any other American band and are the best selling American band ever, yet their career is marred by drug abuse, the untimely deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson, the very public mental breakdown of chief songwriter and singer Brian Wilson, and a relentless history of litigation and acrimony among the surviving members (Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, and Mike Love all tour separately, though Love now owns the Beach Boys name after a protracted legal battle). Theirs is the story of unparalleled triumphs and soul-searing tragedies. Yet the popularity of the...