Garth Brooks was the best-selling country artist of the 1990s.

Actually, he was the best-selling artist of the '90s period. So why did he close out that triumphant decade by transforming into a fictional rocker named Chris Gaines? He devised an outrageous backstory for the character-complete with sex addiction, facial reconstructive surgery, wildfires, and chainsaws-and even recorded a "pre-soundtrack" to a forthcoming film about Gaines. But Garth Brooks? In the Life of Chris Gaines, which doubled as a retrospective of his alter ego's long career, was branded a fiasco before it even hit stores. It sold poorly, the film was shelved, and Garth announced his retirement the next year. Chris Gaines disappeared forever.

Or did he? Out of print since its release and absent on streaming services, the album has somehow grown from a career-derailing flop into a cult obsession. Only one world-renowned critic is brave enough to tell the full story of Chris Gaines. It's a sordid, puzzling tale of intrigue and conspiracy that poses chilling questions: Which one of them is real? Chris or Garth? Why did one of them title an album Fornucopia? And just who does this Stephen Deusner guy think he is? Well?

"In the Life of Chris Gaines, which was intended to be a greatest hits compilation summing up the character's fifteen-year career, was a massive flop, gutted by critics and largely ignored by the confused public. The film was shelved and Brooks soon announced his retirement. But Gaines remains a strange cult figure nearly 25 years later. This book documents the lives of both artists--creator and character--to try to figure out what Brooks intended, why the project failed, and why it continues to capture the imagination of so many listeners"--