Captain Trips: A Biography of Jerry Garcia

Rating:
Summary: Cursory and inadequate
Review: I was going to recommend this to those just mildly curious about Jerry Garcia, but on second thought I can't do that. It is an inadequate look at a profoundly complex man, done in a style that, once you have read better work, you realize leaves big wedges of the pie out. Blair Jackson's biography is THE definitive work, of course, but I would also read Dark Star and even the hilarious (but occasionally innacurate) Living with the Dead by Rock Scully ahead of this. Jerry would have hated the name, too: Captain Trips...he despised all that psychadelic pop icon schmaltz, including the skulls and the Uncle Sam hat. He just wanted to play guitar, which may in the end be his most eloquent and lasting testament to all of us.

Rating:
Summary: ATTN: DEADHEADS
Review: This is a great book to read if you have a growing interest in the Dead, as I did when I read it, or if you are into the Dead and just don't know as much about the band's history as you think you might like to. This is not only a great biography of Jerry, but also sort of a biography of the Dead, with memorable descriptions of the first acid tests and of Jerry's recovery from his diabetic coma during the 80's. A definate must-read for Deadheads, and maybe even interesting to others.

Rating:
Summary: Not the definitive work
Review: While an interesting work and worth reading, it is not nearly the biography that Blair Jackson's "Garcia" is. Many aspects of Jerry's life are somewhat polished up it seems. Not that gory expose is desirable, but still I was left feeling that perhaps the book had a censored feel to it. This is just an opinion. Read Jackson's book, then "Dark Star", for a much more complete and well rounded view of Jerry's life.