Literary PSA on a new book: Here Beside The Rising Tide

[John A]

I just finished a book that came out last year, Here Beside The Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead, And An American Awakening by Jim Newton.

 

Ever since it was published 4 years after Jerry's passing, I've considered Blair Jackson's biography Garcia: An American Life the best book written on anything encompassing Jerry. Granted, Newton had an extra quarter century of archival and personal unearthing surrounding Garcia's and The Dead's story, but he took all that and hit it out of the park. Moreover, the book equally serves as a commentary of the literary, social, and political happenings surrounding Jerry's formative years and the Dead's ascension. 

 

I can't recommend this book highly enough.

[Ammagamalin Crew]

The Cincinnati Public Library has 8 copies, 6 available so I requested it. Thanks for the suggestion. The synopsis reads well 

[Ammagamalin Crew]

Going to have to disagree with you on this one John A. I found the book to be extremely hard to get through until I started skimming through pages. Really, the last 100 pages have anything that keeps the interest to continue reading it. Way to much writing on politics and very little on Jerry and The Grateful Dead.  I don't recommend this book for the experienced deadhead, it's boring 

[John A]

Hey - nothing wrong with spirited disagreement! I liked the unique angle of the forces outside The Dead as narrated in real time with The Dead's story. I was also intrigued by Jerry's apolitical stance juxtaposed with the political zeitgeist, and I loved how the author wove Jerry's technically non-political views, using Jerry's own words, with what was happening outside The Dead's scene.

 

Of course a boring vs a propulsive read lies in the eye / mind of the reader. I've communicated with few folks who've read the book; a couple loved it and one very much did not. I guess now it's 50/50.

 

But for this experienced Deadhead, the book provided greater insight and enhanced details of Jerry's formative years, his personal relationships, as well as his personal life going forward.

[Ammagamalin Crew]

Agreed there's some insight to Jerry. I kind of got annoyed when the author reached a point that merited more insider's information, like when he touched on the meeting of Joseph Campbell and the symposium held at Berkeley on November first 1986, immediately following the halloween show at the Kaiser. There was mention and a picture, but he really didn't go into detail about that day, which if you were in attendance was a turning point in understanding the celebration of life at a dead concert. Tim Newton is more of an uninformed historian of GD culture than an insider deadhead. Constantly throughout the book one has to sift through 2 to 3 pages of reading about Ronald Reagan and black panthers history, ect to get to get 2 - 3 paragraphs of Jerry. Granted, the book has a nice title and there's a really good picture of Jerry on the front cover; however, a weight has been lifted now that i've returned it to the library and don't have to sift through it anymore. Also, I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this problem, but AI is really fucking with my entries into something like this forum. It's editing out my cusswords and rewording my thoughts  changing their projections in subtle ways that discourage, rather than encourage, me to continue  participating at any community based writing activity.