The AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

Rating:
Summary: if you're reading this then buy the book!
Review: Do you listen to Dead tapes? Will they play Dark Star at your funeral? This book belongs in your home. It is first and foremost a reference work, but it is lovingly compiled and utilizes more other sources than most (if not all) the other Dead tomes out there. You know most of what's out there - prose histories summarizing interview material. Sure, this baby has that, and plenty of it. But what sets this book apart is its referential essence. Hey, it's alphabetical. So you want to find out who has recorded "How long blues?" Look it up! Trager lists like the most prominent performers of the tune, plus the best (known) Dead performances of said tune (his best list I guess-but always fun to compare!). They go into details of a song's history and interpretations, give you the rundown on the writer and original performers, and link it up with the Dead. It's great. Hey, if you are looking for a reference on blues musicians and don't care about the Dead, this book is for you too! I especially like the fact that Trager has those obscure and rarely performed tunes in here. 'Nuff said. Check it out!

Rating:
Summary: Not Complete
Review: Good idea, but there are some holes. Examples: no mention of the Ice Cream Kid, the Wall of Sound, Bill Walton, Mouse Kelley. To name a few.

Rating:
Summary: Not Complete
Review: Good idea, but there are some holes. Examples: no mention of the Ice Cream Kid, the Wall of Sound, Bill Walton, Mouse Kelley. To name a few.

Rating:
Summary: The Dead
Review: GREAT BOOk, if your a dead fan, very interesting information and i learned a lot, i recommend this book to all the peace love nature hippies who love the dead it is a great experience

Rating:
Summary: The Dead
Review: GREAT BOOk, if your a dead fan, very interesting information and i learned a lot, i recommend this book to all the peace love nature hippies who love the dead it is a great experience

Rating:
Summary: Definitive
Review: I love this book. I got it about a year ago and I read it cover to cover over the course of a month. It makes great bathroom reading! The thing that's really great about this book is that you get the story behind all of the songs. Reading the backstory for all of my favorite tunes gave them a new life and made me want to go listen to them again -- to see them in that new light. Another interesting aspect is that even the covers are given some backstory -- including extensive information about the orig. artists. Then there's the in-depth information about the Dead themselves. Want to know more about Tom Constantine? It's there. Interested in Bruce Hornsby's connection to the Dead? It's there too. Overall I love having this book in my collection. It's a great reference book as well as a damn good read. I strongly recommend this to all Dead-heads!

Rating:
Summary: Definitive
Review: I love this book. I got it about a year ago and I read it cover to cover over the course of a month. It makes great bathroom reading! The thing that's really great about this book is that you get the story behind all of the songs. Reading the backstory for all of my favorite tunes gave them a new life and made me want to go listen to them again -- to see them in that new light. Another interesting aspect is that even the covers are given some backstory -- including extensive information about the orig. artists. Then there's the in-depth information about the Dead themselves. Want to know more about Tom Constantine? It's there. Interested in Bruce Hornsby's connection to the Dead? It's there too. Overall I love having this book in my collection. It's a great reference book as well as a damn good read. I strongly recommend this to all Dead-heads!

Rating:
Summary: fun read
Review: It is a fun book lots of info and great facts plus many new photos. If you are a diehard deadhead or a novice you shoud learn lots of new stuff. I liked the entrys for each song, where it came from,who also did a cover,best live version.An encyclopedia for all fans of the dead or fans of the music it came from.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a pastiche of other earlier books
Review: It is hardly definitve in that, for two things, it doesn't even mention Hank Harrison and plays down Pig Pen McKernan's role in forming the band. Not mentioning Harrison (or bad rapping him) is ironic since the book cover emphaiszes, in large print, the words THE DEAD, which is, not coincidentaly, the title of Harrison's trilogy, Trager can hardly be thought of as a literary artist. I give it 2 stars for reference only.

Rating:
Summary: OK, but there's better stuff out there
Review: There are so many books on the Dead that it's hard to pick where to begin. This book was good, which is why it gets three stars, but it's kind of square shaped and hard to hold! Honest. That's silly, I know, but this book kept slipping out of my hands when I read it. If I were to come across someone just discovering the legacy of the Grateful Dead, I'd dig around and find a copy of Skeleton Key -- A Dictionary for Deadheads, which I believe is out of print but still fairly easy to find. In order to understand the history, one needs to put the culture in context first, and Skeleton Key did that so well. After reading Skeleton Key, then this book, or McNally's, or Scully's, or blah-blah-blah's (you take your pick) will be decent reading. But reading a history of the Grateful Dead without first understanding the culture that nurtured and supported them is putting the cart before the horse. Seriously, find a copy of Skeleton Key and enjoy what some of us were lucky enough to experience first-hand -- a great lifestyle that the newbie jambands have yet to replicate. A long strange trip? Yes, indeed. A Skeleton Key will be, IMHO, the best place to begin...