Rating: 
Summary: Somehow perfect for the Dead
Review: I distrust any historical account of a band written by an 'insider'. He or she seems invariably to be either too close to the group's members or has some sort of negative agenda so that the reader cannot expect a truly objective, dispassionate work. McNally falls into the former category. Regardless, he has still constructed a relatively lively book with certainly a lot of information about the Dead that I didn't know...but then again I'm not a fanatic. I found it to be a good read. Probably about on par with the Neil Young bio, SHAKEY. If you like the Dead, I would advise you to get a copy of McNally's book. Though he was/is obviously too close to the band to provide much in the way of discerning critical insight, neither is the book particularly fawning in the manner of the recent Ramones biography by Jim Bessman.
Rating:
Summary: Fun
Review: I enjoyed this book. I learned about the Dead, and the general environment that their characters, culture, and music developed in. The majority of the book chronicles the early years of the Dead, with less and less time being spent documenting the later years. At first, I was disappointed that not enough time was devoted to developing the 'characters'. Relatively few quotes are attributed directly to band members, and there is not much characterization of the band members in general. Towards the end of the book, more of this happens, and I realize why it was good that the majority of this book didn't concentrate on this. Its petty, and one-dimensional, and (most importantly) doesn't have a lot to do with 'The Grateful Dead' and their music. I believe there are many more books which do more of the gossip thing, but this book is intentionally not about that. It carefully develops and follows the Dead, their music, and their cultural and musical upbringing. McNally does a great job of putting just the right amount of generic historical information within the story to give it some context and relevance. The only thing I didn't understand, and wish he would have developed further are some internal conflicts within the band early on. He spends a good amount of time explaining that Jerry and Phil were pretty set on 'firing' pigpen and Weir. He never really explains why, except for a brief mention of Weir's general spaciness, and uninspired guitar playing. Pigpen was co-frontman in the early days, and for good reason. He was a great performer, and gave a side to the dead that was never replaced. McNally mentions they wanted a better keyboardist, but personally I loved Pig's minimalist approach, and organ sound. (Much better than Vince Welnick, who I believe ruined the sound of the Dead with his unchecked synthesizer 'percussion' banging away through all parts of every song) Also, I was shocked when very little description was given to how Pig's death affected the band, aside from the fact that they held a huge party in his honor. Alternately, McNally describes Brent's death as a huge blow to the band and the individual bandmembers. If there was no great feeling of solidarity during the early days with Pig, why doesn't McNally say so? And if there was, why so little description of it? The abundance of recordings from these days shows that there had to be some serious commitment to the idea of The Grateful Dead, at least musically. One more complaint I have is the lack of development of the 'management' side of the family. There were a number of sound people, management and organizing elements to the Grateful Dead family, which McNally spends a good amount of time describing. Their involvement in the development and events of the band is unquestionable; but McNally just keeps throwing their names around when we really have no image of who these characters are. Bill Graham is the exception to this, as at least his name is familiar to most Deadheads, and his character is well developed in the book. But, Rock Scully, and some others are often mentioned, but I never get a good image of what type of people they are, and why the Dead really had them around? What did they really do? I found myself mixing them up most of the time. Otherwise, the pace of the book was perfect, especially for a relatively big book. I enjoyed every minute of it, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to know where this beautiful music and culture came from!
Rating:
Summary: The rise and fall with emphasis on the "rise".
Review: I expected more having been a huge fan of McNally's Kerouac bio. I'm not sure what I expected but, McNally didn't quite deliver. I think he is too much of an insider to deliver the "definitive" bio. In his defense the story is so nebulous it needs to be told from different angles i.e Phil's, Mickeys' take. Rock Scully's book is the book if you want the sordid details, this is the book if you want an account just shy of hagiography. I thought his take on the power of the "crew" was fascinating. The influence the "crew" had as described in a hilarious account of a band meeting is riveting stuff. I think a fun read for Heads would be to publish the minutes (if they kept notes)from those Band Meetings and make a book just from those accounts of hippie democracy run amok.
Rating:
Summary: An addictive, if somewhat unbalanced read...
Review: I have just finished reading McNally's "truth be told" novel on the span of the Grateful Dead's 30 year adventure into the world of insanity and chaos. Told from the point of view of an insider, rather than a biographer outside of the Dead community, McNally's book gives a great deal of insight into the multiple personalities, conflicts, exploits, and adventures that made the Dead Family who they were. His story, coming from someone who was there, is told in a very honest manner, and it is one that any fan of the Dead will doubtless find addictive and entertaining. He doesn't write from the perspective of a fanatic, and doesn't sugar-coat anything. His stories are honest, yet he doesn't try and pass them off as fact, aknowledging frequently that other versions of the stories exist (honestly, who could actually expect anyone inside the Dead community to remember every little detail?). When times were good, McNally tells the story and takes the reader along on an adventure. When times were rough, he tells it, and while some of the stories, like those from the 90s, are hard for a fan like myself to read, he tells it like it is. The structure of the book is very well done, using an obvious chronological organization, with occasional chapters acting as interludes that describe a Grateful Dead show from the unloading of the equipment, through the setbreaks, and to the band getting on their flight for the next gig. The organization is well done, and makes for a very interesting read. The balance of the novel, however, gets off a little bit. He starts off with the very beginnings of each musician, and goes into great detail about how the Grateful Dead was formed, and about how they became the travelling behemoth that they were. The detailed development of the band is very interesting, and very essential to understanding the full scope of the band. However, I came to realize as I was about 2/3 of the way through the book that he was only starting to talk about 1972. This leaves 1/3 of the book to tell about 2/3 of their career. This is somewhat understandable, because most fans would agree that the peak years for the Dead were their earlier years, and some of the most entertaining stories and anecdotes come from these years. The later years had the Dead more involved in strife, and a generally more jaded attitude by most of the band members. But, I really couldn't help but feel that the later half of the book was rushed, and not nearly as much detail was given to this era. The eighties were summed up in a chapter or two. This just wasn't enough for me, and left me wanting much more. But I suppose if I had to choose, I prefer more detail on the earlier years - maybe he should have just written a longer book. Also, and I'm being picky here, some of the stories that McNally tells left me a bit confused. Many times he would describe conversations and situations and they just wouldn't make any sense. I'm sure that most of the time you just had to be there to truly understand some of the things that were going on, and it is futile to try and describe them in a book to outsiders. The only other complaint that I have isn't really McNally's fault. Because of the enourmous scope of the Dead community, there are just too many names to keep up with. With road managers, equipment managers, sound technicians, and the likes, it is very difficult to keep up with who's who. I suppose it would have helped to constantly remind the reader what some of the people did, but when it is written by a person who lived with these people and got to know them personally, it probably didn't even occur to him. In conclusion, this book is a fantastic read for someone who loves to Dead, but just wants to know more. It is great as a supplement to the essays written in the Golden Road box set. If you have read anything about the Dead before, you probably have heard many of these stories, but McNally has a lot of new and interesting things to say, and it is definatly worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Only OK
Review: I have to admit I was disapointed in this book. It was a dry read with little that can not be found elsewhere. I found myself skipping over sections pertaining to mind numbing details about late 60's and early 70's concert promotion. I also wanted to know more about the dead in the 80's and 90's. That said my biggest problem with this book was that it did not dive into the core of what the dead really was: a mystical phenomenon. What the dead did was amazing and seemingly otherworldly and impossible. I would have really liked have gotten a more inside view of the band members take on this matter. I know it is briefly touched on in the book, but this is the core of what the dead was, and it deserves a thorough treatment. In my mind it is like a bio of bill clinton that only spends about 1/2 a chapter on his presidency.
Rating: 
Summary: How about a complimentary product...Robert Hunter's story?
Review: I have to admit to a certain bias towards the Grateful Dead. Their music has comforted and beguiled me, it has been my joy and my delight, it has been my heaven, my hell and it's spirit lives on. My first written word experience of the band whom I hold so dear was a book by Hank Harrison given to me by one of my closest and best friends, Rib Chile Kyam. Since Jerry Garcia's early and untimely demise has deprived us of his and the band's musical adventures there have been many books about this most legendary of America's rock bands, some good, some awful and most just plain and mediocre. This new book, acclaimed to be the real deal as it is written by Dennis McNally the Grateful Dead publicist, is a joy to read and is a gripping account of almost thirty years of adventure and music. McNally is the author of a book on Jack Kerouac a fact which helped him land the job as the band's publicist. He writes here as a professional writer with good prose style and one which is almost pregnant with expectation, almost as if each sentence insists 'and then, and then...' The structure of the book is relatively straightforward - in a historical progression with little asides along the way. It is very personable and enables the reader to get to know the personalities involved and to gain the strength of the relationships with each other. There is a strong sense to of a wider community indeed several communities, the band and theirclosest friends and other musicians, the bay area community and of course the fans, the DeadHeads. You get the sense to of the musical legacies inherited by the band from all over the United States which find a way to be weaved into the cosmic musical carpet of the Grateful Dead's music. It is the personalities and the larger than life characters who dominate the pages which makes this particular book so interesting to me. It soon becomes clear that the band members are no shrinking violets and that the band operates in a non-traditional environment. All in all it is one hell of a book and a must have to go alongside the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Tests among others. In time I believe that it will become one of the most important books on the history of the popular music which has dominated for almost fifty years. There is one criticism which I have heard that I would like to address and that is to do with the cleaned up aspect of the book. To me there is enough of that stuff out there already which is available to anyone who wants to go and find it. This book may be clean but then it presents the band as adventurers in music who brought pleasure to millions. It is a legitimate portrayal and an approch which gives a lot of insight into the worlings of the band. Everyone has problems, everyone has there own demons but what have they to do with what we do with our lives? A final thought. Someone needs tp persuade Robert Hunter to write his and the band's story. That would be real interesting. Dennis you have done a great job! Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: No rose-colored glasses here...
Review: I have to say that I have read most all the books on the Dead. This one is by far the best up to 1980 for linear history. My favorite part was the writing on the actual concert memories in the flash forward style. The least favorite part was reading a ton of stories that are out there in many forms. The Dead's family and band personalities were written about with a sincere love , but also with all the flaws and blemishes that many fans will have difficulty digesting , and the voluminous passages on the managers getting fired and re-hired gets a bit thick. However, the Egypt and 72 Europe Tour material are worth the read alone.
Rating:
Summary: A Long Strange Read!
Review: I really looked forward to reading this book. After seeing the Grateful Dead Family Reunion shows this summer at Alpine Valley, and with McNally's "insider" status, I thought it would be revealing and insightful. The bottom line is that the writing is spotty at best, and cursory at worst. While opening some doors to the early years of the Dead, this book is jumpy from a historical standpoint. The author keeps emphasizing the importance of the "here and now" for the Dead, and their dislike and distrust of any commercial efforts that exploit their music, history, and status, but this read does exactly that.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a bit too much of "weren't the 60's great..."
Review: I suppose I should start by laying out my "bona fides": I am a longtime fan of the music, I followed the Dead around for a few years back in the late 70's, and I have taken my share of the legal and illegal substances which are discussed at great length in the book, although I have not done so in quite some time. And so I bought the book, hoping that Mr. McNally's longtime insider status and his professional writing experience would combine to make his history of the Grateful Dead something more than page after page of text that describes the cool people who were/are the Grateful Dead, the cool folks who made up their official family, the cool places they went and the cool shows they played and the really cool drugs they took. Which is all nice easy reading and it is fine as far as it goes. But that is, in essence, the totality of McNally's book.
He does sprinkle paragraphs that describe some of the political and social watershed events of the 60's and 70's here and there in the text. This is perhaps beneficial to readers who have know nothing of that history or who cannot remember any of it due to ingestion of controlled substances. Otherwise the little toss-offs which are these paragraphs are easily skipped.
The book hovers in a plane somewhere above People Magazine and somewhere below popular culural history writing for the mass market book consumer. It is good coast to coast flight reading fare for the Dead fan, but beyond that I don't think it has much to offer. All in all, this subject deserves a better effort, but I think it will have to come, if it comes at all, from an outside interpreter.
Rating:
Summary: What A Cool Book
Review: I've read several books on the Dead and many of them were very good but this one is the best. I love how McNally incorporates all the crew, roadies and staff in his story. You really feel like you know them all by the end of the book. Not to mention all the inside info on the band members. The year by year format takes you on a trip from your own youth to middle age (if you are the same age as the Dead like me). It is a great read and a good job by Dennis McNally.
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