Customer Reviews

Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock

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Rather than write the definitive novel about Woodstock, Peter Fornatale makes no qualms about telling the reader right up front that his intent is to present a multitude of perspectives regarding what has been termed "the birthing event of a new generation."

He does so exceedingly well. Calling upon various participants (producers, builders, organizers, policemen, singers, writers, and even a group of Hasidic Jews nearby) Fornatale presents a well-rounded picture of events transpiring around that three-day, New York festival in 1969.

For those only familiar with the movie, Fornatale digs far deeper into the events leading up to the Woodstock rock event including details surrounding the organizers real reasons for wanting to put on a show, the importance of some of the people who created the sound and light support, and the attitude of many of the performers... some of whom had an entirely different opinion as to why they were performing.

Most interestingly, he presents oodles of information heretofore unknown to the average person like: why John Sebastion performed, why the Iron Butterfly, Jeff Beck and the Moody Blues didn't (even though they were on the original poster), and where Canned Heat came from. The background information is stunning.

"Back to Garden" captures moments, attitudes and experiences beyond the movie, for those who can only related to it from that perspective. It presents a new dimension on the whys and what-fors of Woodstock. For someone wanting the details and an understanding of the events and activities before, during and after the concert, I strongly encourage you to pick this one up.

We're coming up in a few weeks to the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival, and the market is being flooded with all things Woodstock: books, CDs, DVDs, you name it. Some of the books (coffee table or otherwise) are new (such as this one), others are being re-released (the cynic in me thinking as a quick cash-in to the anniversary). The choices are overwhelming perhaps.

In "Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock" (333 pages), author Pete Fornatale takes an interesting approach: not so much as minute-by-minute chronological telling of the festival, this book is instead tries to bring the bigger picture. After an interesting "Introduction", the book then brings chapter by chapter a perspective on the bands that played the festival. I found myself reading this with much more interest than I had expected. There are a lot of delicious behind-the-scenes retellings, really bringing this book to life. One thing that is somewhat jarring is that a lot of pages are spent within those band-by-band chapters on how that particular artist came to fruition (check the CSN(&Y) chapter for example). But ultimately, it's a minor quib. I found myself turning the pages, and marveled at the delightful memories bundled in this book. Very nice.

Of the many other Woodstock-related books out there flooding the market, I might also recommend the coffee table book "Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked The World", which brings (with flaws and all) an equally stirring memory of Woodstock. Avoid another coffee table book called "Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation", though, a mere re-issue of the 1994 book.

Pete has been doing this very thing for over 40 years on the radio . He's not a musician but he is fascinated by them and their music . His book is to be read slowly , as in savoring a glass of wine . He knows many of the participants and he uses that to give the reader a look that is unique . I was there ( sort of )- my buddy and I were sent out to look for a "lost " Camp Counselor in training . We heard no music but saw a lot of folks in various conditions ! That is what Pete does here, except he " is in the front and backstage " giving the reader a real look at this incredible event

300,000 or was it 400,000 or maybe half a million or maybe 655,678 which is what I counted. This is what makes this book so great ............you hear from those who were there and it is seen is many different colored rainbow glasses. What made the book so great was the order of the chapters being the order each artist / band played. I loved the back stories and where the artists are now ( mostly dead ) and being a "big" Bert Sommer fan it was great to read about this " great unsung " artist who was there and did the most moving song of the festival, " America ". I SAY GO OUT AND GET DAVE'S BOOK NOW - TURN UP THE SOUNDTRACK FROM WOODSTOCK AND READ, READ, AND READ.

I highly recommend Pete Fornatale's new book Back to the Garden.......I began this book and could not put it down - it brought back memories of a wonderful time in my life..Reading the actual experiences from performers, organizers, festival participants combined with Mr. Fornatale's vast music knowledge made this book one of the best on the subject I have ever read. I especially thought the alphabetized list of musicians and important movers and shakers was invaluable. Now I definitely need to revisit the movie again.
Pete Fornatale has been and continues to be the voice of a generation. He is our premier musicologist. His show, Mixed Bag, which airs Saturday nights on WFUV is not to be missed.
I suggest everyone celebrate the fortieth anniversary of peace, love and music by reading Mr. Fornatale's book..perhaps..just perhaps...you will begin to smell that wonderful herbal aroma and begin to crave rum raisin ice cream....

When I read a book about music and the artists that brought the music to us, the best thing I can say about it is that it caused me to go back and listen to that music with new ears, a refreshed imagination and an open heart. "Back To The Garden" has done just that. Pete presents Woodstock in a way that brought me back to 1969 with its excitement and allure of groundbreaking music and ideas.

More than music is captured in this book. The wonderful background stories about the various artists and the behind the scenes excitement during the three days makes for great reading.

I loved reading about the performers. The stories about some of my favorites, Sebastian, Havens, Melanie, Santana, among others, made me like them even more. And the stories about those artists I knew about only through their songs brought me to a whole new appreciation of them as people and their remarkable talents.

Woodstock was both a musical and, maybe more so, a sociological event. MMB gives it all to us in the same relaxing, intelligent and entertaining style that brings us together every Saturday afternoon and evening.

My next step is to watch the Woodstock movie (I particularly loved the final chapter with Michael Wadleigh's tales about the film being shown around the world, how it effected other cultures and some of Michael's harrowing adventures in those countries), which I haven't seen in many many years and to listen to the soundtrack music with new pictures in my mind.

Great job Pete.

After seeing the movie and hearing the soundtrack, a lot of people have different memories of their Woodstock experience, and at times, have exaggerated a lot of it. This is a straightforward read that put it all in perspective about what led up to it and the various experiences everyone went through.

Pete is your "host" on this "setting the record straight" book, and it feels like you're a fly on the wall while he's talking with old friends.

Had I been around at that time, and growing up in NY - odds are I would've skipped it because I would've seen all of those bands in the nice cozy confines of a theater with a few thousand people, and not in the middle of a dairy farm upstate, braving the elements and the sanitary aspect of it all. And the times that some of these artists came on the stage? Would've slept through Sly and The Who.

But you get the impression it was more about people getting together mid-summer to experience a "happening". I think it also played a part in kids feeling so defeated from all the stuff that happened in 1968, they needed to clear their heads and head to the country in 1969. They left all the frustrations of life at home.

As is mentioned in the book, the audience was the star of Woodstock, because half the bands that played there were either difficult to deal with, too wasted to remember it, or happened so fast that they were in and out of there without taking it all in.

They made a good point of why an east coast festival was able to have half a million people in one place with little incident and why other festivals have fallen short.

A lot of the artists that were there are still around, and you can tell as much as they enjoyed the experience, they are tired of telling the story to fans over and over.

It has the artists in order of appearance and what time they came on. Now when uncle Joe talks about Woodstock, you'll know if he actually stayed for Hendrix, or was there Friday when Country Joe did his "Fish" cheer and dealt with the rain and mud, as well as when that all happened.

And even though you might not have been born to go to Woodstock, there were a lot of people around at the time who missed out, too. Don't feel so bad.

Before going to Bethel Woods or watching the Blu-Ray of the movie (or the various concert recordings released in 2009), read this book.

This book is a series of quotes from different players built around a general retelling of a part of the festival in each chapter. Most of the chapters are of a specific music act that played and, remember, the acts people remember were in the movie whereas there are many more acts that were covered here.

The last chapter details the movie and its impact which really captured the event and allowed the world to participate in this epic occurrence. This last chapter is a great perspective and worth the read.

Generally I did not find this book as enjoyable as the account written by Michael Lang, the force and creator of Woodstock. The Wall Street Journal had recommended this book over the Lang book but I disagree by a long shot. Still a very impressive recounting. I just think it dealt too much with the music and not the event. Still, a worthwhile read.

BACK TO THE GARDEN: THE STORY OF WOODSTOCK documents the rise and experience of one of the greatest music festivals in American history, and is a 'must' for any general lending library. It comes from a renowned New York City disc jockey who conducts original interviews with Joan Baez, David Crosby, Joe Cocker and dozens of Woodstock organizers and fans, documenting the counterculture and rise of rock n roll music leading to the Woodstock experience. A heady, involving read.

A Must read. Great book. Pete Fornatale is right on the money. Thanks for the memories...