Peter Ames Carlin is a writer and the author of several books, including Homeward Bound: The Life of Paul Simon and Bruce, a biography of Bruce Springsteen published in October, 2012. Carlin has also been a free-lance journalist, a senior writer at People in New York City, and a television columnist and feature writer at The Oregonian in Portland. A regular speaker on music, writing and popular culture, Carlin lives in Portland, Ore., with his wife and three children
Homeward Bound: The Life of Paul Simon (2016) is the revelatory account of the life of beloved American music icon, Paul Simon, by the bestselling rock biographer Peter Ames Carlin. A life story with the scope and power of an epic novel, Carlin’s Homeward Bound is the first major biography of one of the most influential popular artists in American history.
Bruce (2012) is the first biography in twenty-five years written with Springsteen’s cooperation, and it follows the American icon’s path from working class Freehold, New Jersey to the heights of rock ‘n’ roll superstardom, the depths of chronic depression and then further, to his current status as the spokesman for hard-working dreamers all around the world. A New York Times #4 bestseller.
Paul McCartney: A Life (2009) is deeply researched biography focusing on McCartney’s work and experiences as a musician, writer and global icon from his earliest days with the Quarrymen in Liverpool through his career with the Beatles, Wings and his ongoing work as a solo artist, performer and, let’s face it, an intriguingly flawed demigod.
Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, & Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson (2006) was written with its subject’s cooperation, and is a biography of the brilliant songwriter / producer / musician / performer. Along with Wilson’s music and gothic story, analyzes Wilson and the Beach Boys’ impact as modern arbiters of American archetypes, with particular focus on Wilson’s long-unfinished masterwork Smile, whose unexpected rebirth occurred in the midst of Carlin’s work on the book.