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During the Grateful Dead’s thirty-year tenure between 1965–1995, surprisingly few books were published about the band. Even as they filled stadiums, the Dead and their community danced on the fringes of the mainstream. Much like their official albums rarely drove big sales, the publishing world hesitated to invest in what would become a sprawling literary canon.

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Before Jerry Garcia’s passing, shelf space was limited. Aside from a handful of lyric and interview collections, the core titles through the '80s were the two The Dead books by Hank Harrison, Playing in the Band by David Gans & Peter Simon, The Music Never Stopped by Blair Jackson, and The Official Book of the Deadheads by Paul & Jonas Grushkin and Cynthia Bassett. Supplemented by fanzines and the cassette tapes traded among Deadheads, these volumes served as the sacred texts of the community.

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Since 1995, the landscape has changed dramatically. More than three books have appeared—covering the band, its members, the technology, the fans and culture they inspired. With so many pages in print, Grateful Dead Book Reviews exists to help readers separate the wheat from the chaff—whether you’re a seasoned tour rat, a curious listener, or simply looking for the “just-exactly-perfect” gift for the Deadhead in your life.

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Writing and publishing a book is exceptionally difficult. To support the author, we encourage you to purchase directly from their website or from your local bookshop. For convenience, on many review pages I include links to the "big ones". If you purchase through these sources, I may receive compensation, at no additional cost to you. With these proceeds, I plan to buy a mansion and a yacht... or pay for my website and buy more GD books. 

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Please assume good will. I'm a one person show with a career and family. Being slightly below average, I frequently mak misteaks. If you notice a factual error or grammatical blunder, simply let me know and I'll do my best to fix it before Summer Tour.