The best part of Beastie Boys Book (Spiegel & Grau, $50) is that it's basically a giant Beastie Boys song: wild, unpredictable, and unimpeachably cool—a big, party to which we've all been invited. Just as the Beasties themselves perfected the art of sampling, so too does their book, mixing the Beasties's rise to fame with contributions from the likes of Amy Poehler and Colson Whitehead. There's even a cookbook! Founding members Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond gift us with a hilarious recounting of their journey, giving us a tour of hardcore punk and hip-hop scenes of '80s New York City and their initial superstardom with License to Ill, and their subsequent reinvention with their later albums. We get appearances from the likes of Run-DMC and Public Enemy—plus a wonderfully insane story featuring Bob Dylan. At its core, however, Beastie Boys Book is a tribute to the late, great Adam "MCA" Yauch, who endowed the Beasties with both their craziness and their consciousness. As you turn the final page, you'll have a smile on your face and a lump in your throat, and will immediately want to go on the whole ride again.
