Posted: May 29, 2007 - 9:47am
There's lots of 'em! Books about the Dead, by the Dead, both collectively and individually. And then there's books about us, the Deadheads, too! What's your current read?
Grateful Dead Library
Comments
Garcia: An American Life
On January 7th, 2008 cosmicbadger said:
right on Dr Evil. I love that book and still often read random passages of it. So much so that it has largely fallen to pieces. The story of the genesis and blossoming of the Dead is ..well just a great story. Reading the tale of Garcia's personal struggles brings out many different and conflicting emotions. Jackson is careful to avoid making judgements and does not really attempt to get too far inside Garcia's head and answer the question why? But on reflection I think Jackson is right to leave it to us to answer that question ourselves.
I always thought he could have done much better with the title though...sounds to me like it was invented by the publishers!
Deadbase
On February 28th, 2008 Laffin Bonez said:
Deadbase is indispensible. I am always looking up stuff in it. From setlists to places played it is worth more than its weight in gold. When I'm watching college hoops I usually check to see if the boys ever played in that venue. And if they did, how many shows, what kind of setlists and breakouts happened. Then I like to imagine the magic of "way back then"...
Do you suppose that some of those wonderful notes are still bouncing off the rafters?
:)
---------------------------------
I'm not Beethoven
Tiger in a Trance by Max Ludington
On April 14th, 2008 cactuswax said:
Thanks to Claney and Gans for recommending this one - I just tore through it in about three days, it was really good. So realistic I had to wonder if much of it's autobiographical.
Deadhead mystery novel available for FREE! (sponsored by author)
On May 6th, 2008 msclement said:
I am Kearney Street Books' publicist. Kearney Street Books is a small, independent publishing house which focuses on books about music. Currently, we are sponsoring free book discussions for Gary McKinney's new mystery novel, "Slipknot." "Slipknot" is a mystery featuring County Sheriff Gavin Pruitt, Deadhead.
Set the year before Jerry Garcia's death, "Slipknot" takes place in picturesque rural Washington, and revolves around the murder of a politically prominent environmentalist - who was going to decide whether a local forest is logged or not. The future of the local logging industry is dependent upon the decision - but so are the lives of the wildlife within the forest.
Gavin must figure out who the killer is, all the while quoting classic Grateful Dead songs, taking up jamming sessions, and dealing with his daughter's new "hippie" boyfriend.
If you are interested in learning more about "Slipknot," there are limited free copies available. If enough people are interested, a discussion group can be started.
This isn't spam - we just want to get the word out about a great book featuring the Grateful Dead. Since the music can be downloaded for free, why not allow the same in literature - except this offer is available for a limited time.
(Again, this isn't spam - there will only be a few offers made at similar sites devoted the Dead)
You can also read the entire first chapter of "Slipknot" for free at Kearney Street Books' website, kearneystreetbooks.com
You can contact me for more information,
Laura Clement
Deadbase
On May 7th, 2008 Sunshine-daydre... said:
i have a few Deadbases from over the years including some yearbooks, i also have most of the older GD books, unfortunately not Read Phil's or Parish's books or the DK book
my Deadbase is getting ragged, could do with a new one being published perhaps with solo setlists also
Bob
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Spanish Jam
Books...
On May 19th, 2008 alessio69 said:
Well, Garcia: An american life from B. Jackson is the best, to me, and Searching for the sound, by Phil is a good one too (no frills, more focused on the musical side). Then I got the one from McNally, and I think that it is quite good..a little boring sometimes.
The book from Rock Scully is funny, maybe too much gossip but I think that it's a nice way to look inside the life of a band outside the stage.
Last, try this one, "Hippie" from Barry Miles, not specifically about the GD, more about the years '65-70, it's a good book, very funny and full of wonderful pictures.
Looking for a Jerry Garcia Picture
On June 23rd, 2008 BigBluesDriver said:
Hello all. First post here because I am trying to find a book with the picture of Jerry holding up his hand missing his finger. The photo is famous, but I can't find any books with it. Do you guys know of any?
Deadhead memoirs
On July 17th, 2008 PeterConners said:
the storyteller makes no choice...
Does anyone know of any non-fiction books (memoirs) about actually going to Grateful Dead shows? I don't mean any insider or academic stuff, but a book purely from the standpoint of someone touring and writing about it.
I ask because I have just that kind of book coming out next spring with Da Capo Press (leadbelly27 references them here with the David Gans interview book... I have the same excellent editor at Da Capo that supported Gans' book!) and I want to know if there is anything like it that I should check out. I've searched high (cough, cough) and low, but haven't found anything. Which really surprises me. But then again, having written this, I know how hard it is to remember... stuff.
yeah dude,
On July 17th, 2008 grdaed73 said:
i saw one at the bookstore about 6 month ago, was at my daughters chorus recital and was leafing through it. sorry i don't remember the name of it or the author or the publisher but i swear i saw it! peace
What a Long Strange Trip
On July 26th, 2008 jasia52 said:
I recently pulled this book from my library shelf: Stephen Peters' "What a Long Strange Trip--the stories behind every Grateful Dead song 1965-1995". Its 20 chapters give an anecdotal history of every GD studio album from "The Grateful Dead" to "Built To Last" with critical/historical discussions of every song on each album, as well as songs performed live but never recorded "officially" such as "So Many Roads". It includes period photos, lists of every track on each album & how many times each song was performed live (approximately). For trivia lovers & historians, I'd recommend this as an entertaining read & reference, as well as a companion volume to "The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics".
(: "Everywhere I go the people all know everybody's doin' that rag." :)
Jay
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