Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia Paperback – February 10, 2009

Great read!

Big Steve is bigger than life with his wealth of knowledge from the inside of the most influential rock bands we will ever witness, thank you

This biography is written by piecing together interviews with many different people in chronological order to tell Garcia’s life story. Unfortunately, there are very few interviews with GD members or Garcia’s rock contemporaries. The few that are used were from interviews several years before Garcia’s death.There are many interviews with Garcia’s love interests / wives. Strangely, they all had mostly good things to say about it even though it seems like Garcia was unreliable. Perhaps this has something to do with the interviews taking place so soon after his death. Or, maybe Garcia’s charisma overcame his other obvious flaws.

Really fantastic book!There’s a backstory to this review: My husband was mayor of a large city, so I have the most minuscule taste of what it’s like to be recognized on the street. Little nothing me helped run his grassroots campaign. And because he was a populist, I could actually feel the prayers of those who wanted him in office.Now, for the review: I was moved by many things in this biography, but my favorite passage came from Randy Baker.“The most likely way for Jerry to die would have been from something sudden. I think he might have been able to rally and recuperate from anything that was lingering, in part because of the number of people who would pray for him when he was ill.”I believe Baker is spot on. More, I sure hope that our beloved Jerry Garcia was ready to cross over – and I sure hope the reports are correct that he had a smile on his face when he did. That would make me feel so much better, especially considering all the joy and comfort that I am still bestowed with from his soul having been on this earth.Thanks, Mr. Greenfield for a wonderful read. Wishing you all things wonderful.Gloria Squitiro, Author of May Cause Drowsiness and Blurred Vision: The Side Effects of Bravery

A good insight of music history from the mouths of the people who were there. I got to know someone who played a major role in the United States of America.

A comprehensive collection of quotes and quips with the feel of coming directly from the Dead family. Nothing is glanced over, hushed up, or cleaned up.Justin Kreuztmans' quotes are a surprising collection of incredible insight, taken from a kind of "little brother to Garcia" vibe that gave me a lot of subtle smiles.I've read this book multiple times - it's that good - highest recommendation without a doubt. Author Greenfield did a great job.

My 3 stars have nothing to do with Mr. Greenfield's writing ability or hard work on this project. It is very well written. The problem is the source material. There is practically no info from bandmates outside of Merl Saunders and Old and In the Way members. There isn't much about Jerry's songwriting or guitar playing other than he practiced a lot. Most of the input comes from people Jerry left behind, people fired from the Dead, or caretakers who had to deal with Jerry's inability to take care of himself.There is a lot of fascinating info from ex-wives and the children from the Grateful Dead Organization. That was a huge plus. The bottom line is that this is not a complete look at Jerry Garcia but only a look at his darker or negative facets. It may be a reflection of the sample of people willing to be interviewed by Mr. Greenfield but the book is flawed by a serious under-representation of what was supposedly the most important thing to Jerry Garcia - The Music.

While I do recommend this book to those interested in the Grateful Dead and contemporary music/culture/celebrity, I think I'm going to stop reading books like this (I'm currently reading "Shakey," the bio of Neil Young); I think maybe I prefer to perceive my musical heroes just through their music, which is really what they're all about anyway. I have not lost any respect for either Jerry Garcia or Neil Young in learning more about their lives, but I guess I liked it better when I believed they're above the all-too-human selfish ego trips that are so damaging to interpersonal and business relationships. Then again, if an individual is not motivated and posessed by a huge ego, then he probably would not be a great artist.I really enjoyed the unusual format of "Dark Star." It is strictly a series of reminisences and observations, direct quotes from people who knew Jerry Garcia. That includes family members (his brother, some of his wives and lovers); friends from all periods of his life; and people who interacted with his career, including fellow musicians. I particularly appreciated the open recollections of Mountain Girl, his lifeong associate and second wife. I was struck by some who did NOT contribute comments. There was almost none from any of the Grateful Dead (though Bob Weir wrote a poignant introduction), but a lot from people in the Dead's circle. Little or nothing from Robert Hunter, though quite a few comments from John Barlow. Not one quote from John Kahn, his bass player of nearly every project outside the Dead, though there were many from musicians close to Jerry like Merl Saunders, David Grisman, Jorma Kaukonen, etc.One issue that I had never known about was that the Grateful Dead and company seemed to be quite resentful of the family, friends, and outside associates of Garcia. It's not unreasonable at all when you consider how essential he was to their careers, art, and lives, and how he was pulled in other directions. It also had never occurred to me that for an artist to follow his muse seems to require neglecting and even betraying his relationships.I read this book to follow up after reading Dennis McNally's "A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead," and if you want an entertaining and fun look at the band through the years, I'd say go with that one. If you're up to being exposed to the heartbreak and pitfalls of such a life, "Dark Star" has all that. I love Jerry Garcia's music, and I always identified with him as well. This book did nothing to diminish the former, but gave me pause to reconsider that latter.