A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead

Book Description

The complete history of one of the most long-lived and legendary bands in rock history, written by its official historian and publicist–a must-have chronicle for all Dead Heads, and for students of rock and the 1960s’ counterculture.

From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead flourished as one of the most beloved, unusual, and accomplished musical entities to ever grace American culture. The creative synchronicity among Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan exploded out of the artistic ferment of the early sixties’ roots and folk scene, providing the soundtrack for the Dionysian revels of the counterculture. To those in the know, the Dead was an ongoing tour de force: a band whose constant commitment to exploring new realms lay at the center of a thirty-year journey through an ever-shifting array of musical, cultural, and mental landscapes.

Dennis McNally, the band’s historian and publicist for more than twenty years, takes readers back through the Dead’s history in A Long Strange Trip. In a kaleidoscopic narrative, McNally not only chronicles their experiences in a fascinatingly detailed fashion, but veers off into side trips on the band’s intricate stage setup, the magic of the Grateful Dead concert experience, or metaphysical musings excerpted from a conversation among band members. He brings to vivid life the Dead’s early days in late-sixties San Francisco–an era of astounding creativity and change that reverberates to this day. Here we see the group at its most raw and powerful, playing as the house band at Ken Kesey’s acid tests, mingling with such legendary psychonauts as Neal Cassady and Owsley “Bear” Stanley, and performing the alchemical experiments, both live and in the studio, that produced some of their most searing and evocative music. But McNally carries the Dead’s saga through the seventies and into the more recent years of constant touring and incessant musical exploration, which have cemented a unique bond between performers and audience, and created the business enterprise that is much more a family than a corporation.

Written with the same zeal and spirit that the Grateful Dead brought to its music for more than thirty years, the book takes readers on a personal tour through the band’s inner circle, highlighting its frenetic and very human faces. A Long Strange Trip is not only a wide-ranging cultural history, it is a definitive musical biography.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Buy this book with a dictionary........2007-10-02

While a most in-depth book about the Dead - A warning: You will either need to be a graduate English major or keep a dictionary close by to understand the points conveyed.
Dennis McNally uses every word in the English language (and a few of his own design) to flower up the 620 pages of this book.
I found the overuse of obscure wording very annoying. Sometimes "less is more".

Nice Try.......2007-07-15

Although the author is no doubt bright, he's not a great writer. Characters are introduced as if we should already know who they are, and he can't seem to keep a linear time path (Garcia's father died, and - oh yah, his finger got cut off before that). He assumes we know who important people are, so there's no need to introduce them properly. He almost has a "wink-wink" style, like we all know who Kesey is, or who Kantner will grow up to be, so he can just straight away start moving along without any background or introduction. I had read prior Grateful Dead books, so I knew all the characters, but I still found the style jumpy and awkward. One minute the band mates are in their 20's, then we're at a board meeting 20 years later, then back to the original timeline. Lesh is driving a postal truck when he hears JFK got killed - I assume he worked for the post office. Not a good introduction to anything, really. It gets confusing when writers use the forum of biography to do creative writing. "Garcia" by Jackson is a superior work.

Great rock journalism!.......2004-11-12

This is a terrific portrait of the unique phenomenon called The Grateful Dead. It's thorough, but never plodding, and quite lievely to read.

Official but hardly definitive.......2004-08-19

This is a troubled book. For one thing, you've read most of it already if you've read the other 4 or 5 important books on the band that have come out since Garcia's death. He quotes liberally from all of them, including the hilarious but scarcely dependable "Living With the Dead" by Rock Scully. In fact, that's probably where you need to start - with Scully's book. For fun, to remind yourself that it was all about fun after all. Then treat yourself to one of the best biographies you'll ever read with "Garcia", then get a look at the dark underbelly with "Dark Star", and you'll begin to get a sense of the big stories from at least 3 perspectives. Then if you still need more read "A Long Strange Trip" to patch in the cracks. McNally's unbalanced but highly detailed work provides loads of names, dates, places, addresses, etc.; enough to keep trivia buffs and collectors busy for years. But the big questions (you know the ones) will still go maddeningly unanswered. I cynically opine in my idle hours that this is because access to The Band is still probably limited to those who don't kick up too much dust, like it always was. The Grateful Dead is still one of the most potent social and musical phenomena of the post war period, and their influence continues to echo (ripple?) throughout countless millions of lives, and will for the next several thousand years. (Stop and think about it. There will be Deadheads 1000 years from now.) This is a good but not great look into the origins of that organism.

good book ...at times a little much though.......2004-02-12

Someone gave me this book recently as a gift I'm very glad to have received it . Overall the book is well written , and offers a good look at what the band was really like . It also goes into the beginning of the Dead's contemporaries , and tells a little about how The Airplane , Big brother , and Quicksilver got started... In addition to history you get a fairly good idea of what the band members were like as people , when out of the "lime light". At times though too much is covered and too many little details are discussed that really aren't relevant . I mean all the little details about marriages ,divorces,etc. back in 1963 could have easily been left out .But there is also the opposite of this with Keith Godchaux's death covered in all of one sentence , or "...that summer Jerry Garcia discovered heroin..." (you get the point) . Another strange thing about this book is like most have said as you read through it the years arent very detailed at all . In the beginning of the book (which recalls the mid and late 60s') chapters cover six to eight months . But as you read and the book get into the late 70's and early 80's chapters get to the point where they cover 4 to 5 years . Which is both good and bad , its good because the main question with bands who manage to last this long is often: "What happened? , What was the "magic" in the beginning?" but by summarizing the later years McNally left a lot of questions unanswered . That and there a lot of almost "filler" stories that have nothing to do with anything ,dont take place in any particular time , and are just there to fill pages. And yes , McNally doesnt really give you a good look at how big or serious the drug addictions were (he says it but in most cases does little to illustrate his point) This all might be to avoid trashing the band and to keep certain stories of the past in the past. Keep in mind almost every time someone says "Jerry Garica" these days it seems like one of his ex-wives demands money.

Book Description

This rigorously compiled A-Z volume offers rich, readable coverage of the diverse forms of post-1945 Italian culture. With over 900 entries by international contributors, this volume is genuinely interdisciplinary in character, treating traditional political, economic, and legal concerns, with a particular emphasis on neglected areas of popular culture. Entries range from short definitions, histories or biographies to longer overviews covering themes, movements, institutions and personalities, from advertising to fascism, and Pirelli to Zeffirelli.

Moliterno, Gino, ed. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Italian Culture

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Moliterno, Gino, ed. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Italian Culture
Marie Orton
Manufacturer: American Association for Italian Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literature | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Italian Culture, published by American Association for Italian Studies on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 887 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Moliterno, Gino, ed. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture.(Book Review) (book review)
Author: Marie Orton
Publication: Italian Culture (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: American Association for Italian Studies
Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Page: 159(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture

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Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture
Gino Moliterno
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OFFDJO

Customer Reviews:

Total TV for the baby boomer generation.......2003-03-28

As a baby-boomer I've always had an interest in television. I mean, in my case it's pretty much all I remember. Two reviews I read intrigued me and so I bought a copy of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN TELEVISION.
David M. Lisa in his Library Journal review of Feb. 15, 2003 said: "Nearly three years ago, Facts on File published Lackmann's excellent THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN RADIO: An A-Z Guide to Radio from Jack Benny to Howard Stern. Its companion volume is just as valuable, in addition to being fun to read and use. Similar in scope and format to its predecessor, AMERICAN TELEVISION presents more than 1000 capsule descriptions of all major network and syndicated television series from 1947 through 2000, with entries for primary television personalities also included. The attention to detail that characterized AMERICAN RADIO is evident here as well, with listings of broadcast schedules, network information, and show trivia included in each description. In addition, Lackmann offers two excellent appendixes: a listing of the top-rated programs from 1952 to 1999 (divided by television season and including yearly ratings for each program) and Emmy Award winners from 1948 to 1999. Black and white photographs accompany the major entries, and the book's index makes it easy to find your favorite program or personality. Alex McNeil's TOTAL TELEVISION has a similar setup but only goes up to 1995, and while Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh's THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF PRIME TIME NETWORK AND CABLE TV SHOWS, 7th ed. covers cable, unlike Lackmann's book, it cuts off at 1998. Overall then AMERICAN TELEVISION is the most current, concise, and affordable work available on the subject. This important reference will be used by public and academic libraries for many years and is highly recommended."
Mark van Lummel, described the contents of this book in his review which was included in his list of newly released reference books. He said: "This survey encyclopedia, covers popular broadcast television shows and specials from 1945 to 2000. Standard appendixes of yearly top-rated programs and annual Emmy awards are included, along with a thorough index. The majority of entries are for programs and actors. Each program entry includes a description of the show, times the show aired, complete cast listings and notable guest stars, and the occasional interesting fact. Biographical entries include dates of birth and death, along with actor's television credits. Any significant acting work done outside of television is also mentioned. All entries are enhanced with excellent cross-references to related shows and actors. Coverage of special television events and programs is also included, but not extensive. While the author includes his criteria for selection, there are a few surprises in the actors and programs selected for inclusion." van Lummel also said, "Within its own limits, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN TELEVISION is well written and easy to access".....and..."this encyclopedia may be considered an adequate addition for libraries that do not own other reference works on television programming history."

Massive task well executed.......2003-03-17

What a massive task, to review and include all the television shows from the beginning through 2000. Our first TV entered our home in '50 and has been a fixture ever since. So, to read the sketches for so many of the shows that have been available for this vast period has been a real treat. This book will serve as a useful reference for anyone researching the "vast wasteland" and/or is just looking back on their own history. You will like this book.

A concise and useful reference book.......2003-03-10

This is a wonderful, concise and helpful general reference souce for anyone researching the major television shows and stars of the past century. Unlike other books on the subject, The Encyclopedia of American Television, is easy to read, gives only the important highlights of each show and major personality and is a very attractive looking book. The photographs in the book are nostalgic and provocative. The back of the book has lists of the top twenty shows of the 20th Century, as well as Emmy winners. I think this book would be most useful to school aged children and adults who are interested in an overview of television and its major stars of the past century.

Error-Ridden and Incomplete.......2003-02-26

I can only find three things to fault with this book: it is riddled with errors; its entries are arbitrary and incomplete; and the indexing, where accurate, is inconsistent. Other than that, I must admit it has some redeeming features: the cover is attractively designed, the text is legible and it is printed on good quality paper. That about sums up the positives.

A complete list of the book's errors would constitute a fair-sized work in itself. Some of them are factual, e.g. that Don Adams was the cartoon voice of "Underdog." (While Adams did do another voice on that series for one season, the title character's was that of Wally Cox.) Many are inconsistencies: for example, in the entry for actor Gene Barry, it states that his "Burke's Law" character was a secret agent, while the entry for the series has it correctly, that he was an LAPD captain; for another, in the "Barney Miller" cast, Linda Lavin is listed as portraying a doctor, but the entry for Lavin has it correctly, that her character was a detective. While an author or compiler of a reference work is entitled to set the parameters for what his work will cover, it is unacceptable to then proceed to violate one's own rules. Lackmann does that here, several times. While series are supposedly limited to those which lasted at least one full season, there are entries for those which did not meet this condition, but others are excluded which did, such successful series as "Laredo" and "Movin' On" (The latter is mentioned in the entry for Frank Converse, but even here there is an error: Converse is listed as the star of the series, when he actually took second billing to Claude Akins.) I also question the author's criteria for what personalities should be included. For example, why does actor Gardner McKay, who had one successful series before retiring early, rate three paragraphs, while such prolific, familiar and well-respected performers as Akins, Neville Brand and Frank Gorshin, to name only a few, are mentioned only in passing, if at all?

The greatest error of omission, however, is in limiting the inclusions to productions from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and WB(!). This ignores the numerous quality and innovative (to use one of the author's favorite words) programs from the Dumont network, which was a major player in the early days of the medium. Since the book is not entitled "Encyclopedia of *Late* 20th Century American Television," Dumont's output should have been included, at least more than just "Captain Video."

The writing is banal. (In addition to overusing certain terms, such as the aforementioned "innovative," the author apparently does not know the difference between "reportedly" and "purportedly" or between "descent" and "nationality."). Some statements are almost hilarious, for example that an actress's death was ignored by her fans of 50 years before; how many of them were still around to notice? The illustrations, nearly all publicity stills and studio portraits, add nothing to the book. All but one are from the author's own collection, which admittedly makes it easier to gain permissions.

Not recommended, in case you were still wondering.

Error-Ridden and Incomplete.......2003-02-26

A complete list of the book's errors would constitute a fair-sized work in itself. Some of them are factual, e.g. that Don Adams was the cartoon voice of "Underdog." (While Adams did do another voice on that series for one season, the title character's was that of Wally Cox.) Many are inconsistencies: for example, in the entry for actor Gene Barry, it states that his "Burke's Law" character was a secret agent, while the entry for the series has it correctly, that he was an LAPD captain; for another, in the "Barney Miller" cast, Linda Lavin is listed as portraying a doctor, but the entry for Lavin has it right, that her character was a detective. And, while an author or compiler of a reference work is entitled to set the parameters for what that work will cover, it is unacceptable to then proceed to violate one's own rules. Lackmann does that here, repeatedly. While series are supposedly limited to those which lasted at least one full season, there are entries for those which did not meet this condition, but others are omitted which did, such successful series as "Laredo" and "Movin' On" (The latter is mentioned in the entry for Frank Converse, but even here there is an error: Converse is listed as the star of the series, when he actually took second billing to Claude Akins.) I also question the author's criteria for what personalities should be included. For example, why does actor Gardner McKay, who had one successful series before retiring early, rate three paragraphs, while such prolific, familiar and well-respected performers as Akins, Neville Brand and Frank Gorshin are mentioned only in passing, if at all?

Not recommended, in case you were still wondering.

Book Description

This comprehensive tutorial and reference covers all the basics of PHP 5, a popular open source Web scripting language, and MySQL 4.012, the most popular open source database engine
Explores why users need PHP and MySQL, how to get started, how to add PHP to HTML, and how to connect HTML Web pages to MySQL
Offers an extensive tutorial for developing applications with PHP and MySQL
Includes coverage of how to install, administer, and design MySQL databases independently of PHP; exception and error handling; debugging techniques; PostgreSQL database system; and PEAR database functions
The authors provide unique case studies of how and where to use PHP drawn from their own extensive Web experience

Download Description

* This comprehensive tutorial and reference covers all the basics of PHP 5, a popular open source Web scripting language, and MySQL 4.012, the most popular open source database engine
* Explores why users need PHP and MySQL, how to get started, how to add PHP to HTML, and how to connect HTML Web pages to MySQL
* Offers an extensive tutorial for developing applications with PHP and MySQL
* Includes coverage of how to install, administer, and design MySQL databases independently of PHP; exception and error handling; debugging techniques; PostgreSQL database system; and PEAR database functions
* The authors provide unique case studies of how and where to use PHP drawn from their own extensive Web experience

Customer Reviews:

Worth every penny.......2007-05-14

Most of the Bible series of books are worth the money you pay for them, and this one is no exception.

Good informative book, great for the beginner and a good read for the advanced.

Not good for reference, but then it isn't supposed to be.

Poorly organized.......2007-04-25

I purchased this book off the shelf before reading any reviews. I was looking for a specific solution for one of Viking Water's clients, so I reviewed the books by looking through their indices. Of all the PHP books on a well-stocked shelf, this was the only one to tackle dynamic drop-down lists, which is my heartburn of the moment.

After reading through 1/4 of it (skimming in some cases), I agree with other reviewers that it may not be the best way to learn PHP from scratch. If you're conversant with "C" or Perl, it can be a slightly useful tool. However, if you're new to programming this may not be the book for you since a lot of PHP is modeled on "C" and the authors unconsciously assume a basic familiarity with that language, even though they attempt to cater to the non-C programmer.

One of the interesting features of the book is that the authors often explain surrounding HTML code, even though the book assumes a familiarity with the HTML language. If you're not an HTML guru, it will be nice to have the explanation right in front of you rather than having to haul out (or look up) your HTML reference. For instance: their explanation of the subtle difference between POST and GET would be very interesting to someone who is weak in that area.

However, the code examples are poorly commented which can make them difficult to follow if you are trying to learn the language(s) involved from scratch.

confusing book. Not well written, probably made in a hurry........2006-08-23

This book often uses concepts and code explained only in following chapters. I should have read the other (bad) reviews on Amazon before buying my copy in a library. Unfortunately I was in hurry. Now I am at page 202 and I am not sure whether I should continue or quit and wait 8 more days to get a better book.

educational AND entertaining.......2005-09-27

This book is not meant to be a profound cache of code-snippets. Indeed there are some coding errors. I freely admit that I learned raw html "OJT" years ago, with little reason or time to learn anything more involved that wasn't required of me. I was a designer, typesetter and layout hanger, not a programmer. I have no experience in C or in Java. Call me a programmer groupie, I have dozens of family, friends and acquaintances who program miracles daily in all different alleys while I play a "very aesthetic game of tiddleywinks". When I began getting clients who wanted websites that DID things instead of just glorified yellow-page ads, this "turkey" asked all of the "eagles" which way to turn -- they looked at what I needed and what paths that might lead to, and they all said PHP. I started playing around with canned PHP webapps about two years ago, and I quickly picked up how to install mods and then modify those same mods no sweat, but even with a few different sorts of PHP/MySQL in 24 hours, one week, etc. books -- I never really understood the WHY's and HOW's of the GUTS of those webapps [framework, huh?!], let alone how to create even the simplest of freestanding flat calls, all of which have recently begun to make my life SO much easier. I quickly learned that those 24 hours/one week/etc. style books are ALMOST STRICTLY made for folks with C and Java experience even though the books desperately claim otherwise. Why did I choose this book? Because a few friends of mine who have been working with PHP since near the beginning told me that this was one of the few version'd books that always has a worthwhile amount to offer both beginners and seasoned pro's, as well as everyone in between. I actually started reading this one cover to cover, and was not the slightest bit disappointed in my investment. Let me clarify -- I actually COULD read this one cover to cover without wondering what magical decoder ring I was missing. Instead of a code snippet "Instant PHP" book, I finally wound up with one that I can look at the examples in the book, and without even trying the examples verbatim, write my own similar but original code for what *I* want to accomplish. I don't know Jane Adams, I am not her banker, and I don't know what I would do with her recipe database so 6 page long examples of how to code any of that to be used verbatim in 24 hours are of little value to me. Yes, the book jumps around -- there's a heck of a lot to cover here! 1000+ pages might seem rather hefty, but it has been a godsend for me. Take the reviews however you will; I found it extremely educational AND entertaining, and having seen dog-earred copies in the offices of some of said "eagles" -- I am fairly certain there is some great stuff in here for PHP pro's too. If you really feel the need, give it a few minutes at your local bookshop -- then come back to Amazon for the killer discount. You won't be disappointed!

Worth Reading.......2005-08-30

As the other reviewers have stated, there are quite a few code errors. However, I was impressed by the content. The dialog within the book is comprehensive as well as enjoyable. This is not a dry manual. It does jump around, but with so much covered, there's no correct navigational path to develop each topic in succession. I found it great to read the book, but create my own code based on examples found in the book. (Copying the code line by line didn't help me. However, copying the general information contained really expanded my knowledge.) This is a book for beginner and intermediate programmers interested in PHP.

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Php5 & Mysql Bible
Tim Converse
Manufacturer: HUNGRY MINDS IDG
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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