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

by Dennis McNally (Author) "Shortly before every Grateful Dead concert, there is a luminous, suspended moment..." (more)
Key Phrases: band meeting, grateful dead, spring tour, San Francisco, New York, Bill Graham (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The Grateful Dead forever changed popular music by ushering in the psychedelic sound of the 1960s as they valiantly toured almost nonstop for three decades and consumed loads of illegal substances. Yet the most fascinating, and revealing, thing about the Dead is their fans the Deadheads: tie-dyed, drugged up and devoted in a way that makes Beatlemania look rational. What did the Dead have that fellow San Francisco bands Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Moby Grape lacked? As author McNally (Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America) explains in this entertaining and well-written book, the Dead built up their loyal following by treating fans as equals, as "companions in an odyssey." After improvisation, writes McNally, "the single largest element in the Dead's weltanschauung was their pursuit of group mind under the influence of LSD...." As the Dead's publicist for more than 20 years, McNally packs this 600-pager full of intimate details otherwise unavailable, such as the time the group's janitor vetoed a suggestion from multimillion-dollar promoter Bill Graham as too "commercial." On the other hand, McNally clearly dodges the more unflattering and controversial aspects of the musicians' lives offstage; indeed, every living member of the original lineup provides glowing endorsements on the book's back cover. But perhaps McNally thinks the Dead's underside has been done to death; in any case, with a little prettifying he still manages to pen the most exhaustively researched book on the band to date.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
McNally has been the Grateful Dead's official historian since 1980.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (August 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767911857
• ISBN-13: 978-0767911856
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #358,208 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long, Strange Trip and a Great Read!, August 13, 2002

By	Kenneth French (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Believe me, McNally's book is going to be the definitive Dead book from now on. Only Blair Jackson's GARCIA is in the same league. Not only is the whole story of the band told, but it's told well and is a terrific read. McNally is to be commended for concentrating on the band, their world, and their music without getting bogged down in their personal lives. That's not the point here. His decision to break the narrative flow with occasional interludes works, giving details on different aspects of the Dead's world that flesh out the story. My only quibbles (and they're small ones) are these: I wish he had included more about Tom Constanten and Vince Welnick--they were both members of the band (if briefly) and deserve a little more attention. And there is an occasional needless swipe at other artists like Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground (who did not hate their audience, as McNally claims). But aside from that, a great tale well-told.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Important piece of the puzzle, October 11, 2002

By	kevnm "kevnm" (Costa Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Like many of the reviewers here, I've read most of the books about the dead. Each seems to add a little to a complex story that no single perspective can completely render. If you find this band, the 60s, psychedelia and the San Francisco scene to be of interest, by all means read this entertaining book. McNally is particularly good in exploring psychedelia's emphasis on the "now," and Garcia's embrace of spontaneous performance as a high art form (pun intended).
Again, as other reviewers pointed out, this is not the only story. Read the other dead books, Peter Coyote's book (as someone here suggested), the Bill Graham biography, Charles Perry's "Haight-Ashbury," the books about Janis Joplin, "Storming Heaven" the great book about LSD and its social impact, "Electric Kool Aid Acid Test," and on and on. (One problem in reading these general works, though, is that you'll have to endure some of the same stories over and over, and you'll have authors explaining to you what LSD was, and who Bob Dylan is.)
I find this period endlessly fascinating and overall it's being well served by some really terrific books - this one included.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just rock journalism - just GOOD journalism, October 29, 2002

By	Mitchell A Luxenberg (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews

What this book is not: kiss-and-tell, worshipful, blinded by love, preachy.

What this book is: solid journalism, respectful, sober, carefully researched.

This book stands on its own as a good piece of biography and social history. McNally maintains high jounalistic standards by neither worshiping nor castigating the band members (though they arguably are worthy of both).

This is enjoyable, informative - even "must" - reading for any Grateful Dead or rock music fan. Those of you with a limited interest in rock music will find it's a well written book that will hold your attention, but I doubt you will experience the visceral connection to it that many Dead fans will.