Rating: 
Summary: Do You Know Him ?
Review: A book that leads you from the beginings of Garcias life to his untimelly death in 1995 and beyond. Learn about his life and doing and be surprised about all the information you didn't have about him, a great book for a fan or enybody who is just maybe partly interrested. Defenitly a must-have !
Rating:
Summary: It's Like Being There
Review: As a big Jerry Garcia fan, this was one great read..I felt like I was riding in the back seat of a car with Jerry driving..Jackson wrote out his life in a very visual style. He put most the thrust on the music but the personal still came through. As somebody who lived this whole era, I still learned a few things from this book. Now, if somebody would just write a decent book about the Jefferson Airplane and the Allman Brothers..Life would be good.
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry, this one does'nt cut it
Review: As an overview of the career of Garcia and the Dead this book pretty much gives it all, and that's about it. There is no real insight into the character of the man. What were his demons? What drove such a creative and clearly intelligent man to such self destruction? He was one of the most talented musicians of his generation, and his work was uniquely American in a way few if any others could match. The title implies that this will be explored in the book, but for the most part it is not. If you are familiar with the Dead, there is really nothing new here. Good as a reference book, but not for anything else. Blair is clearly unwilling to tell some uncomfortable truths (he claims the death of Brent Mydland was not a suicide, yet Jerry all but said it was in a 1991 Rolling Stone interview, and the circumstances certainly point that direction as well). I think the author is, in the end, too much of an insider to give a balanced and truly honest telling of this story.
Rating: 
Summary: Waiting for magic to happen
Review: Blair Jackson had the opportunity to write the definitive biography of Jerry Garcia but faltered when Garcia's history (and his bandmates)became difficult.Jackson aims for the old Garcia as Buddha schtick without ever coming to grips with the contradictions and complexities of this mans life.
How is it that Jackson can provide us with intimate details of Garcias childhood but then skims over the years from 1974 to 1976 a period of intense creativity for Garcia. It is at this point in the book that Jackson changes direction and his book becomes an "authourised biography" and Garcia deserves better than that. Rock Scully in his book "Living with the Dead" captures the mood of the Grateful Dead and indeed the spirit of the Grateful Dead with clarity and ease, Jackson could have learned a thing or two from that book .Instead he takes Scully to task as to the accuracy of his book( although he fails to mention why he never cleared those issues up on the two occasions he interviewed Scully for this book). The second half of this book tells us more in its ommissions than its content,and again Scully and other writers were not afraid to suffer the wrath of the various personalities involved.I was not expecting an extended gossip column but I actually expected Jackson to clarify issues not ignore them. Garcia was of course a complex individual and my main complaint with this book is its one dimensional portrayal of the man,his music ( often discussed here in terms of record sales and concert attendances) and his life. In all a good book but it should have been a great one.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting for magic to happen
Review: Blair Jackson had the opportunity to write the definitive biography of Jerry Garcia but faltered when Garcia's history (and his bandmates)became difficult.Jackson aims for the old Garcia as Buddha schtick without ever coming to grips with the contradictions and complexities of this mans life.
How is it that Jackson can provide us with intimate details of Garcias childhood but then skims over the years from 1974 to 1976 a period of intense creativity for Garcia. It is at this point in the book that Jackson changes direction and his book becomes an "authourised biography" and Garcia deserves better than that. Rock Scully in his book "Living with the Dead" captures the mood of the Grateful Dead and indeed the spirit of the Grateful Dead with clarity and ease, Jackson could have learned a thing or two from that book .Instead he takes Scully to task as to the accuracy of his book( although he fails to mention why he never cleared those issues up on the two occasions he interviewed Scully for this book). The second half of this book tells us more in its ommissions than its content,and again Scully and other writers were not afraid to suffer the wrath of the various personalities involved.I was not expecting an extended gossip column but I actually expected Jackson to clarify issues not ignore them. Garcia was of course a complex individual and my main complaint with this book is its one dimensional portrayal of the man,his music ( often discussed here in terms of record sales and concert attendances) and his life. In all a good book but it should have been a great one.
Rating:
Summary: Truly An American Life
Review: Blair Jackson's biography of Jerry Garcia is fascinating. "An American Life" is a particularly appropriate title because of the breadth of Jerry's musical influences. The chapters dealing with Jerry's early days as a bluegrass banjoist were especially interesting. Jerry clearly embraced the entire gamut of American music, including mountain music, folk, jazz, blues and gospel. Mix all of these ingredients with a healthy batch of rock and roll and you have the Grateful Dead. Jackson writes rhapsodically of the Dead's role in the psychedelic period of the 60's, and brilliantly brings that era back to life. The exploits of Neal Cassady, Ken Kesey, and the Merry Pranksters and their relationship with Jerry is a highlight of the book. The tales of Jerry's drug use are harrowing. His life took a downward spiral when cocaine and heroin replaced marijuana and LSD as his drugs of choice. Nevertheless, his passion for music and performing was undiminished. Jerry's all encompassing heart, soul, and spirit animated his music and transcended his physical being. The book also includes a very informative "complete" discography along with the author's rating of each recording and very brief analyses of the music. The discography includes the Dead, JGB, solo projects, and highlights from Jerry's guest appearances on albums released by other artists. Blair Jackson's writing style is highly readable and fully capable of projecting the reader into each scene from Jerry's life that he so vividly describes. Highly recommended for anyone who loves Jerry Garcia and his music.
Rating:
Summary: Truly An American Life
Review: Blair Jackson's biography of Jerry Garcia is fascinating. "An American Life" is a particularly appropriate title because of the breadth of Jerry's musical influences. The chapters dealing with Jerry's early days as a bluegrass banjoist were especially interesting. Jerry clearly embraced the entire gamut of American music, including mountain music, folk, jazz, blues and gospel. Mix all of these ingredients with a healthy batch of rock and roll and you have the Grateful Dead. Jackson writes rhapsodically of the Dead's role in the psychedelic period of the 60's, and brilliantly brings that era back to life. The exploits of Neal Cassady, Ken Kesey, and the Merry Pranksters and their relationship with Jerry is a highlight of the book. The tales of Jerry's drug use are harrowing. His life took a downward spiral when cocaine and heroin replaced marijuana and LSD as his drugs of choice. Nevertheless, his passion for music and performing was undiminished. Jerry's all encompassing heart, soul, and spirit animated his music and transcended his physical being. The book also includes a very informative "complete" discography along with the author's rating of each recording and very brief analyses of the music. The discography includes the Dead, JGB, solo projects, and highlights from Jerry's guest appearances on albums released by other artists. Blair Jackson's writing style is highly readable and fully capable of projecting the reader into each scene from Jerry's life that he so vividly describes. Highly recommended for anyone who loves Jerry Garcia and his music.
Rating:
Summary: This will become the standard serious biography.
Review: Blair Jackson's book is excellent. It's frustrating that we'll never have more information on Jerry's motivations (especially his darker ones) because he didn't give many interviews on personal topics, particularly in later years, didn't keep a journal, and there wasn't a correspondence file available, but Jackson has found as good a collection of points-of-view and quotes from others on that topic as will likely be found. Overall, Jackson has looked at everything, it seems, and rendered an informed, insightful and pretty objective (for such a passionate fan) review. Jackson flushes out the whole picture in great detail. (He also has, on-line, a couple of hundred pages that he had to cut, which I've read, for further enjoyment.) Members of the band or Hunter may write books (I doubt anyone but Hunter or maybe Hart will), that will undoubtedly add insights and anecdotes, but the Jackson book, I believe, will be the long-standing biography. Blair Jackson delivered the goods, didn't disappoint and makes a great contribution.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, a good bathroom read, but sloppy.
Review: Don't get me wrong, this book is by all means exhastive. My main problem is that throughout the book Jackson seems to prance around the sensitive issues so as to not piss off the members of the inner circle of the band. And even though he documents Garcia's drug problem, in every case he includes some sort of disclaimer like, "although it's not really clear whether it had a negative impact on the music or not, there were still stellar shows," blah blah blah. The fact is, drugs, mainly heroin, ruined Garcia's life and at least part of his career. We were all there in the early-mid nineties when Jerry was catatonic on stage, giving embarrassing performances slumped over his guitar. The serious problem he had was ignored or at least tolerated by those close to him throughout his life; for Jackson to downplay the negative impact drugs had on Garcia in anyway is ireesponsible. And for that I think the book can be nothing more than mediocre.
Rating: 
Summary: The kind book
Review: Finally a book that shows Garcia in all his human-ness. A must for anyone who wants to dig deep into the history of The Grateful Dead. The book is written in such a way as to present Garcia objectively without a lot of fluff about the mystical heights the music brought us. Kudos to Jackson for making Garcia a real person.
| 
