The INSPIRATION FOR the 5-TIME EMMY NOMINATED SPIKE JONZE LIVE DOCUMENTARY BEASTIE BOYS STORY, AVAILABLE ON APPLE TV+ BOOK of the YEAR SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, ROLLING STONE, ROUGH TRADE #1 New York Times bestseller One of the greatest music books ever published. MAX PORTER Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam AD-ROCK Horovitz and Michael Mike D Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the almost impossible-to-fathom overnight success of their debut studio album Licensed to Ill; that albums messy fallout; their break with Def Jam, move to Los Angeles, and rebirth as musicians and social activists, with the genre-defying masterpiece Pauls Boutique. For more than twenty years, this band has had a wide-ranging and lasting influence on popular culture. With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises.