"Agnello by Agnello: Striking the Heart of an Artist's Confessions" is the artist's self-revelation, a reconciliation of a life that has played out with both middle-class predictability and deviant audacity. Characterized and illuminated through his own words, Agnello's art is cutting-edge, a stage for a world caught in dysfunction, not the least of which finds his own biographical heartaches, regrets, and insecurities. In the end, the story holds its head up high: a triumph of an outspoken mind, lifting the curtain to life's conflicts, emptiness, and disappointments, but also speaking of great heights, accomplishments, and resolutions. Art with nerve, art for people's sake, not for bland decoration, is at once Agnello's high command, transcending emotional struggle to robust drama. Some 285 illustrations of paintings and drawings, grouped through the artist's own correlation of themes and aesthetic trends, enrich the narrative.