At turns critical and poignant, a thoroughly researched exploration of the ultimate price tag for the end of the 1960s.
A historical retrospective on the dark side of the Summer of Love and the end of an era.
As Austerlitz (Sitcom: A History in 24 Episodes from I Love Lucy to Community, 2014, etc.) notes, while the much-hyped Woodstock Festival came to symbolize the 1960s counterculture’s utopian vision, “Altamont became an easy symbol of the failings of that hopeful time.” The idea for the Altamont festival began with the Rolling Stones, who sought to bookend their North American tour with a free Woodstock-like event to be held in the San Francisco Bay Area. Featuring Santana, the Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane, the poorly planned festival—thrown together last-minute at the unlikely Altamont Speedway—began without a hitch. However, before the night was over, violence reigned, culminating in the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Meredith Hunter, one of few black concertgoers in attendance. Who to blame for Altamont’s failure and Hunter’s death? The racial turbulence of the times? The cavalier attitude of festival organizers? The violence-prone Hells Angels, hired for security? The Rolling Stones who hired them? The Grateful Dead, who were too high to play to a growingly restless audience? As Austerlitz amply demonstrates, it was all of this and more. Interviewing the likes of Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner, Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, filmmaker Joan Churchill, and Hunter’s surviving family members, the author looks critically at this pivotal historical event while paying tribute to Hunter, who, as Austerlitz writes, “was not just a name, not just a dead man at a rock concert.” Austerlitz also examines the Altamont documentary Gimme Shelter and the trial and acquittal of Hells Angel Alan Passaro, and he provides updates on the fates of the players involved in the day’s unraveling.
At turns critical and poignant, a thoroughly researched exploration of the ultimate price tag for the end of the 1960s.Pub Date: July 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-08319-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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