Garcia: an American Life : An American Life

This is an unparalleled portrait of Jerry Garcia - the musical genius, the brilliant songwriter, and ultimately, the tortured soul plagued by his own addiction. He was there when Dylan went electric, when a generation danced naked at Woodstock, and when Ken Kesey started experimenting with acid. He was one of the most gifted musicians of all times, and he was a member of one of the most worshipped rock 'n' roll bands in history. Now, veteran rock journalist Blair Jackson has stitched together Garcia's story from more than a hundred of his own interviews with Garcia and his friends, lovers, and bandmates, and from thousands of pages of source material from the '50s through the '90s. With more than 40 photographs, many of them previously unpublished, this is the ultimate tribute to the man who, as Bob Dylan said, "had no equal". 'A heartfelt biography... What remains constant throughout the book... is Jackson's ability to elucidate Garcia and the Dead's already overanalyzed musical style with an extraordinary freshness.' The Boston Globe

Blair Jackson has written about Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead for nearly thirty years. From 1984 to 1993, Jackson and his wife, Regan McMahon, published the DEad fanzine The Golden Road in their spare time. He currently works as executive editor of the professional audio trade magazine Mix. He lives with his wife and two children in Oakland, California.