The Grateful Dead Reader (Readers on American Musicians) [Paperback]

David Dodd (Editor), Diana Spaulding (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Readers on American Musicians | Publication Date: January 17, 2002

Arranged in chronological order, these pieces add up to nothing less than a full-scale history of the greatest tour band in the history of rock. From Tom Wolfe's account of the Dead's first performance as the Grateful Dead (at an Acid Test in 1965), to Ralph Gleason's 1967 interview with the 24-year-old Jerry Garcia, to Mary Eisenhart's obituary of the beloved leader of the band, these selections include not only outstanding writing on the band itself, but also superb pieces on music and pop culture generally. Fans will be fascinated by the poetry, fiction, drawings, and rare and revealing photographs featured in the book, as well as the anthology's many interviews and profiles, interpretations of lyrics, and concert and record reviews.
Still, The Grateful Dead was more than a band--it was a cultural phenomenon. For three decades it remained on one unending tour, followed everywhere by a small army of nomadic fans. This phenomenon is both analyzed and celebrated here, in such pieces as Ed McClanahan's groundbreaking article in Playboy in 1972, fan-magazine editor Blair Jackson's 1990 essay on the seriousness of the drug situation at Dead concerts, and Steve Silberman's insightful essays on the music and its fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Diehard Deadheads Dodd and Spaulding, a husband-and-wife editorial team, have compiled 41 short selections from the more than 4000 entries in The Grateful Dead and the Deadheads (Greenwood, 1997), the definitive Grateful Dead bibliography, gathered by Dodd and fellow collaborator Rob Weiner. With the exception of an excerpt from Tom Wolfe!s landmark Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), the editors favor more obscure extracts from fiction, interviews, record liner notes, poems, articles, and concert reviews. They divide the material into four sections, chronicling the band!s Haight heyday (1967$75), the growth of the Deadhead legion (1976$86), commercial success (1987$94), and Jerry Garcia!s death. Except for two revealing interviews with Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter, the editors have resurrected Dead ephemera that adds little to the mounting Dead literature that already includes standards such as Robert Greenfield!s Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia (LJ 6/1/96) and Dead manager Rock Scully!s Living with the Dead (LJ 12/95). Recommended for Deadheads only."Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Grateful Dead literature is approaching Beatles-lit in volume, and this gathering about the band and its fans attests to how vast and dedicated the nation of Deadheads is. Coeditor Dodd notes that "for me and for countless others, a world without [Jerry] Garcia and the Grateful Dead is a world lacking the possibility of ever again experiencing quite the same level of intellectual, emotional, and spiritual ecstasy all at once." Sure. Whatever. Certainly a fine addition to the Dead oeuvre, the book collocates some of the best writing on Garcia and company by the likes of Tom Wolfe, Ken Kesey, Richard Brautigan, and Ralph J. Gleason. Robert Hunter, lyricist and overall Garcia collaborator, contributes a piece, and Blair Jackson, editor and guiding light of the Golden Road, one of the finest fanzines, contributes several. Consumer advisory (i.e., fair warning): these insightful meditations on the Dead phenomenon are by and for true believers. A must for Dead-heavy collections, the book is also a nice addition to any pop-culture collection. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195147065
• ISBN-13: 978-0195147063
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,134,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Collection From Far-Flung Sources -Essential, September 5, 2000

By 

jay (a small town) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grateful Dead Reader (Readers on American Musicians) (Hardcover)

This collection brings together some of the best writing about the Dead, and from some previously hard-to-find sources. Included here are fine pieces from noted Dead scholars Blair Jackson, David Gans, and Steve Silberman, but also served up are rare articles that many latter-day Deadheads have likely not had the pleasure of reading. Some are rare like Charlie Haas' wonderful profile of the band (almost worth the price of the book alone) originally published in the now-defucnt "New West" magazine, and Ed McClanahan's equally notable article that appeared in "Playboy" in the early 70's. Others are from masters like Ralph J. Gleason, whose work is wisely included. The editors have done a painstaking job of selecting and presenting the material, most of which was not readily available before.The prestige of the Oxford Universtiy Press is befitting of such an influential, quirky, and uniquely American institution, and editors David Dodd and Diana Spaulding have done them justice.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece on the elusive band, February 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grateful Dead Reader (Readers on American Musicians) (Hardcover)

This book is a nice edition for "a favorite book on the Dead." Prior writings on the band are generally tell-alls by former friends and insiders. However, this is just honest from the seat of the pants good writing by many insightful commentators from the earliest days to the final days. I saw the Dead perform 25 times between 1983-93; and after reading this book I felt that it answered alot of questions. The Dead have always been one of the most difficult bands to capture in words, so you won't be dissapointed in this entertaining and deadon book on the good 'ole Grateful Dead.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars skip it, December 17, 2004

By 

st stephen "steverino" (zone) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grateful Dead Reader (Readers on American Musicians) (Hardcover)

Skip it, go buy a dicks picks, you'll feel better. I found this book in a remainder bin, ignored like a mother who doesnt talk to its baby, and the baby shrivels up and dies. Read this book and asked myself, how's your head? Yet another attempt to nurse the dead's legacy, by recycling lots of familiar stuff. Go to the library, get out the readers guide, and make yer own, you'll have a better time.