Customer Reviews

Captain Trips: A Biography of Jerry Garcia

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While an interesting work and worth reading, it is not nearly the biography that Blair Jackson's "Garcia" is. Many aspects of Jerry's life are somewhat polished up it seems. Not that gory expose is desirable, but still I was left feeling that perhaps the book had a censored feel to it. This is just an opinion. Read Jackson's book, then "Dark Star", for a much more complete and well rounded view of Jerry's life.

I was going to recommend this to those just mildly curious about Jerry Garcia, but on second thought I can't do that. It is an inadequate look at a profoundly complex man, done in a style that, once you have read better work, you realize leaves big wedges of the pie out. Blair Jackson's biography is THE definitive work, of course, but I would also read Dark Star and even the hilarious (but occasionally innacurate) Living with the Dead by Rock Scully ahead of this. Jerry would have hated the name, too: Captain Trips...he despised all that psychadelic pop icon schmaltz, including the skulls and the Uncle Sam hat. He just wanted to play guitar, which may in the end be his most eloquent and lasting testament to all of us.

Whether or not you're a fan of the Grateful Dead of Jerry Garcia, this is a good starter book to get the general facts about Jerry's life and a little about the Grateful Dead. The information given in this book is pretty good, but it doesn't go as in depth as I would have liked to. The photographs in the book give a better idea as to what Jerry was into at that particular time. You can see what Troy was trying to describe, like his clothes and friends and his general attitude towards life comes out in the pictures. This book is definitely a good book for general knowledge.

This is a great book to read if you have a growing interest in the Dead, as I did when I read it, or if you are into the Dead and just don't know as much about the band's history as you think you might like to. This is not only a great biography of Jerry, but also sort of a biography of the Dead, with memorable descriptions of the first acid tests and of Jerry's recovery from his diabetic coma during the 80's. A definate must-read for Deadheads, and maybe even interesting to others.

I really enjoied reading this book. I liked how it was about both Jerry and the Dead and how Troy wrote about how Jerry got exposed to all those different styles or music that got reflected in his music. I would say that it is a must read for any Dead-Head, old or new.

This book was one of the greatest books I have read about Jerry Garcia, and the Grateful Dead. It started telling his life and how he grew up, and everything. This book is worth all FIVE of the starts......If you haven't read this book, but you like Jerry Garcia, and the Grateful Dead, then i suggest you read this one!