great book...on my second time around ,still diggin it lots of stuff ive never read,and ive read most of them. Also just got done with steve parishs book it was alright ...i would suggest it for a fresh look at Jerrys addiction fron an insider. kinda sad though....
The only criticism I have of the book is that it focused mostly on "the old days" and much less so on their later years. I guess for valid reasons though... but still.
Its a good book, very intelligently written. I pick it up here and there and read a lil bit where I turn to, tried to sit down and read it and just cant for some reason-guess this way the music never stops
I think, knowing Dennis slightly through Ratdog, that he was more comfortable with telling "history" than "secrets."
McNally, who I think has a Ph.D in history IIRC, liked to mention world and national events in his book, things that were going on outside the world of the Grateful Dead. I liked that. But my wife, reading the same book, specifically disliked it... she didn't think he showed any real connection, thus losing the impact, in her view. Was he the guy whose voice you would hear if you'd call the GD hotline? If so, he sure did a great job with that. He'd even mention the band's blunders and mistakes onstage, as if honesty was the norm in the PR business. A stark contrast to the real world, but I liked that. I find it quite kewl that the Grateful Dead singlehandedly invented one of the most popular and successful business models (giving away the product) since the inception of the industrial revolution. Coupled with "honesty in marketing," it says a lot about those guys.
I know the Kerouac book was his dissertation. Did Dennis finish his doctorate with his defense and all?
I had the impression that he did, but only because I heard he had a Ph.D and I think you have to go through the challenge/defense thing for that to be final. But I really don't know.
