Cheap Dark Star (Book) (ROBERT GREENFIELD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Dark Star

Warning: I worshiped Jerry Garcia until I read this book
Even though I knew about Garcia's drug and alcohol problems, I still thought he was one of the most wonderful people on the planet. Until I read this book. His treatment of the women in his life - including his neglect of his daughters - made me realize that he was just another human being, and possibly someone I might not even have wanted to meet. I still think that he really did want and try to be a good person at times, and and I still love his music, but reading this book was quite a shock for me. It was hard to deal with my feelings of disillusionment afterwards.

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This book wore me out
I was unable to put this painful, marvelous book down until I had finished it. Starry-eyed twirlers should beware their illusions: Jerry Garcia was a powerful, wealthy (in the end), troubled genius who broke a lot of hearts. But his contribution to his friends and the millions who adored his art stands as one of the most enduring of the last half of this century. He once said, "Anybody who thinks I'm God ought to talk to my kids." Truer words were never spoken, and this book illustrates the folly in putting people on pedestals. Garcia is still my favorite artist, bar none, and this book is priceless for it's clear view into his life and work. It also provides a lot of depth and counterpoint to Rock Scully's "Living With the Dead", correcting some of the wilder tales with conflicting eye-witness accounts. The only negative comment is that the interviews are printed verbatim, and the often broken and incorrect English makes the statements unintelligible. I remember reading several of them 4 or 5 times and still being unable to decifer the intent. But they are the minority. Buy it, read it.

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An incredible read....
This book is an absolute must read for any Grateful Dead fan. The beauty of the book is that you have accounts and opinions from (what seems to be) everyone in Jerry's inner circle. Not only does the book allow you to take a deep look inside Jerry's life but it allows you to take deep study of the scene and the characters that were an enormous part of his life.

This book was damn near impossible to put down and will certainly be re-read very soon - just to make sure I did not miss anything the first time around.