Rating: 
Summary: Time warped and uneven but still fascinating
Review: One one hand it makes perfect sense to have the band's publicist write its biography because he will be privy to lots of cool inside info. On the other hand having someone who worked for the band as its publicist almost certainly guarantees a lack of balance and impartiality. Both of these things are true about A Long Strange Trip. There is also a strange kind of time compression in which the very earliest days of the band and Jerry are dwelled upon at length , even though this predates McNally's personal experience. In contrast, the last 15 or 20 years of the band with which McNally had the most personal knowledge are crammed into a small fraction of the book, and the story of the decline and fall of Jerry is almost not discussed. But this is still by far the best biography of the band and is full of cool anecdotes and, I think, gives a pretty good picture of what the boys were after when the whole thing began in the mid 1960s.
Rating:
Summary: Time warped and uneven but still fascinating
Review: One one hand it makes perfect sense to have the band's publicist write its biography because he will be privy to lots of cool inside info. On the other hand having someone who worked for the band as its publicist almost certainly guarantees a lack of balance and impartiality. Both of these things are true about A Long Strange Trip. There is also a strange kind of time compression in which the very earliest days of the band and Jerry are dwelled upon at length , even though this predates McNally's personal experience. In contrast, the last 15 or 20 years of the band with which McNally had the most personal knowledge are crammed into a small fraction of the book, and the story of the decline and fall of Jerry is almost not discussed. But this is still by far the best biography of the band and is full of cool anecdotes and, I think, gives a pretty good picture of what the boys were after when the whole thing began in the mid 1960s.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointed!!
Review: Really too bad. Really blew a golden opportunity. After reading this book one has to come to the conclusion that McNally really wasn't an insider with the band because he reveals nothing. There is almost more in the book about Bill Graham than the Dead! Sure Bill was cool but he wasn't a member of the dead. I've read all other released material on the dead but this is by far the worst. Scully's book, while berated by the band, was at least honest about the drugs and booze and crazyness. Does McNally even know that Jer died of drugs? It was hardly even mentioned. I'm embarrased for McNally. Read it if you must but don't expect anything and you will be alright.
Rating: 
Summary: good book ...at times a little much though
Review: Someone gave me this book recently as a gift I'm very glad to have received it . Overall the book is well written , and offers a good look at what the band was really like . It also goes into the beginning of the Dead's contemporaries , and tells a little about how The Airplane , Big brother , and Quicksilver got started... In addition to history you get a fairly good idea of what the band members were like as people , when out of the "lime light". At times though too much is covered and too many little details are discussed that really aren't relevant . I mean all the little details about marriages ,divorces,etc. back in 1963 could have easily been left out .But there is also the opposite of this with Keith Godchaux's death covered in all of one sentence , or "...that summer Jerry Garcia discovered heroin..." (you get the point) . Another strange thing about this book is like most have said as you read through it the years arent very detailed at all . In the beginning of the book (which recalls the mid and late 60s') chapters cover six to eight months . But as you read and the book get into the late 70's and early 80's chapters get to the point where they cover 4 to 5 years . Which is both good and bad , its good because the main question with bands who manage to last this long is often: "What happened? , What was the "magic" in the beginning?" but by summarizing the later years McNally left a lot of questions unanswered . That and there a lot of almost "filler" stories that have nothing to do with anything ,dont take place in any particular time , and are just there to fill pages. And yes , McNally doesnt really give you a good look at how big or serious the drug addictions were (he says it but in most cases does little to illustrate his point) This all might be to avoid trashing the band and to keep certain stories of the past in the past. Keep in mind almost every time someone says "Jerry Garica" these days it seems like one of his ex-wives demands money.So bottom line yeah its good , lengthy and boring at times yes , but still worth your time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Over all I would say it's good - buy it if you like the Dead
Review: There is a lot of good information for anyone wanting to know more about the phenomenon of the Grateful Dead. That being said I do have some complaints.
For one thing it fails to really get inside the characters and give you a good feeling for the individuals.
For another, there are MANY statements that seem to come out of the blue and out of context with the surrounding paragraph. Like a stoner wrote it while stoned. Maybe that's the case. It was frustrating because it simply wasn't clear what he was saying. It was as if he was projecting and thinking that his audience (us readers) knew the background and would know what he is talking about.
One more thing: the index is terrible! Almost everything I wanted to look up, and knew was in the book, was not in the index.
Oh, one more thing: he didn't mention that adding Keith and Donna was the BIGGEST mistake the Dead ever made (besides Garcia's heroin abuse)! Donna's voice throughout the tapes of the 70's almost ruined many years of good music. I wish there were a way to remove her voice so I don't have to cringe everytime she screams in these otherwise great tapes!
Rating:
Summary: Great rock journalism!
Review: This is a terrific portrait of the unique phenomenon called The Grateful Dead. It's thorough, but never plodding, and quite lievely to read.
Rating:
Summary: Official but hardly definitive
Review: This is a troubled book. For one thing, you've read most of it already if you've read the other 4 or 5 important books on the band that have come out since Garcia's death. He quotes liberally from all of them, including the hilarious but scarcely dependable "Living With the Dead" by Rock Scully. In fact, that's probably where you need to start - with Scully's book. For fun, to remind yourself that it was all about fun after all. Then treat yourself to one of the best biographies you'll ever read with "Garcia", then get a look at the dark underbelly with "Dark Star", and you'll begin to get a sense of the big stories from at least 3 perspectives. Then if you still need more read "A Long Strange Trip" to patch in the cracks. McNally's unbalanced but highly detailed work provides loads of names, dates, places, addresses, etc.; enough to keep trivia buffs and collectors busy for years. But the big questions (you know the ones) will still go maddeningly unanswered. I cynically opine in my idle hours that this is because access to The Band is still probably limited to those who don't kick up too much dust, like it always was. The Grateful Dead is still one of the most potent social and musical phenomena of the post war period, and their influence continues to echo (ripple?) throughout countless millions of lives, and will for the next several thousand years. (Stop and think about it. There will be Deadheads 1000 years from now.) This is a good but not great look into the origins of that organism.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly disappointed
Review: Well, if this book was 20 years in the making, I hate to think what a rush job would have read like. McNally actually manages to accomplish something I thought impossible - an insider writing a history of the Grateful Dead that sounds pretty mundane and boring. Do yourself a favor and pick up a book that's really amazing and completely overlooked - "Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle" by Peter Coyote.
Rating:
Summary: Not just rock journalism - just GOOD journalism
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: What a let down...
Review: Wow, what a disappointment! McNally is able to achieve the unimaginable - to write an "insider" history of the Grateful Dead that is absolutely pedestrian & tedious. If this book took two decades to finish, I hate to think what a rush job would have read like!!
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