Aces Back to Back: The History of the Grateful Dead
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Aces Back to Back: The History of the Grateful Dead (1965 - 2013) Paperback – February 6, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
Review
By John Perry Barlow, Grateful Dead:
This book is a gift ... it is from Scott Allen, an utterly shameless Deadhead, to the community he has loved for a long time. It is, in one sense, a historical textbook. The author understands that the real object of his adoration is not the band, but the Mysterious Creature which sometimes arises between them and the audience, which all of us create and of which each of us should be properly in awe. I hope you will accept this book with the grace in which it's given. As a fairly shameless Deadhead myself, I am grateful for it.
Aces Back to Back: A joy - (5 stars)
Feb 16, 2014The author is a fan but he's a damn good historian and writer. He recounts the group's history from their earliest roots and takes us right up to the Furthur concerts in Riviera Maya this past January. Few moments in the Dead's history in-between are missed. The book celebrates the most minute but doesn't forget the glory. All the key players are here, too: Cassady, Kerouac, Kesey, Hunter, Barlow, Bill Graham, et. al. Aces Back to Back: A magical transporter taking me back for one last night with the band I still love.
Aces Back to Back: Both objective and devotional - (5 stars)
Roseann & Robert Pistella Feb 9, 2014Aces Back to Back is a concise and accurate account of the life of one of the greatest of all rock groups, the Grateful Dead. Author Scott Allen was there, and this is his loving testament to the band that changed music and the world. I have over a dozen books on the Grateful Dead, and this one is my 'official' Dead reference. A MUST HAVE.
Ace Back to Back - Amazing read ! (5 stars)
Karen M. Feb 20 '14
I enjoyed Mr. Allen's work with Relix, so it was with great anticipation that I read Aces Back to Back. Allen has maintained his enthusiastic style of writing about the Grateful Dead & all things Dead: the Wall of Sound, the Irwin guitars, the tours of Europe. And things non-Dead: his sweeping history name-checks bands like Love, Sixto Rodriguez & the Good Rats. The drawings are quite compelling, just like the book. It answered a lot of questions for me as a long-time Deadhead. An honest & detailed account of the Dead's history.
Ace Back to Back - Really good read !
Henrietta M. March 9, 2014
We just finished this book, really good read!~
From the Author
I am blessed to have received the support of Ice Nine Publishing and John Perry Barlow and I am thankful for that. I worked diligently on this book. This version took me four years to write. I began during the last week of December, 2009 and finished, curiously, during the last week of December, 2013. I wrote from the heart and, as Robert Hunter would say, "laid it down dirty and picked it up clean." I didn't engage in any sensationalism or exploitation of the Grateful Dead or Garcia and used the facts as a guide for my narrative. Because "the compass always points to Terrapin."
More About the Author
Author Scott W. Allen wrote for Relix magazine from 1983 until 1992, serving as a Senior Writer, columnist ("Fragments"), and feature article writer. In his articles during 1989 and 1990, he notably championed the cause of bringing to justice the murderer(s) of Deadhead Adam Katz.
In Aces Back to Back, Mr. Allen recounts the Grateful Dead's history from their earliest roots - the 1960 meeting of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter - and takes you right up to the Furthur concerts in Riviera Maya, Mexico this past January, 2014. All of the key moments in the Dead's history in-between are covered.
Scott is a veteran of nearly 250 Grateful Dead concerts and has also taught on the high school and college levels for 27 years.
He was born in the Bronx, New York and currently resides in North Palm Beach, Florida.
Please visit and "Like" our Aces Back to Back page on Facebook for more information and for excerpts from our book:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aces-Back-To-Back/163153097059935
In Aces Back to Back, Mr. Allen recounts the Grateful Dead's history from their earliest roots - the 1960 meeting of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter - and takes you right up to the Furthur concerts in Riviera Maya, Mexico this past January, 2014. All of the key moments in the Dead's history in-between are covered.
Scott is a veteran of nearly 250 Grateful Dead concerts and has also taught on the high school and college levels for 27 years.
He was born in the Bronx, New York and currently resides in North Palm Beach, Florida.
Please visit and "Like" our Aces Back to Back page on Facebook for more information and for excerpts from our book:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aces-Back-To-Back/163153097059935
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By
Rick Abath
on June 8, 2014
Format: Paperback
17 Comments
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The book begins with a sophomoric attempt to "place" the reader at a Dead show: "You're meeting a woman on a blind date arranged by one of your colleagues... 'Hi Luci it's nice to meet you,' You politely reply....'Wow I was at that show ,' you respond...The sound of the band tinkering with their instruments grabs your attention," and goes downhill from there. The author employs the hackneyed device of naming each chapter after a Grateful Dead song. It's cliche at best, but can be done well. In this case it isn't, the chapter titles have little or nothing to do with what's written about in the chapters.
The author likes to talk a lot about the camaraderie of Deadheads but certainly isn't a righteous head himself. When I questioned ONE PARAGRAPH in his book he messaged me personally and cussed me out for about a half an hour. According to him, I'm too stupid to understand his subtle style. Unfortunately, if one wants to be a successful author they aren't able to explain their book to every one of their readers. I suspect that's why he self published this book, it would never survive the editorial process at a legitimate publishing house.
Then again, if one is to be a successful writer, one should not threaten their readers either. I have a friend who is a stickler for details and corrected the author on a few points. The author has been emailing him with messages like this, "You are a lowlife. I will tell you the same thing I told your a@#$*le friend: You would never be man enough to stand in front of my and flex your Internet muscles and say those things to my face, you pu&&y. It is not hard to find you, I grew up in the city. Grow eyes on the back of your head f#$%er."
Seriously, this dude is unhinged and his book is unreadable.
The author likes to talk a lot about the camaraderie of Deadheads but certainly isn't a righteous head himself. When I questioned ONE PARAGRAPH in his book he messaged me personally and cussed me out for about a half an hour. According to him, I'm too stupid to understand his subtle style. Unfortunately, if one wants to be a successful author they aren't able to explain their book to every one of their readers. I suspect that's why he self published this book, it would never survive the editorial process at a legitimate publishing house.
Then again, if one is to be a successful writer, one should not threaten their readers either. I have a friend who is a stickler for details and corrected the author on a few points. The author has been emailing him with messages like this, "You are a lowlife. I will tell you the same thing I told your a@#$*le friend: You would never be man enough to stand in front of my and flex your Internet muscles and say those things to my face, you pu&&y. It is not hard to find you, I grew up in the city. Grow eyes on the back of your head f#$%er."
Seriously, this dude is unhinged and his book is unreadable.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By
Jeffrey Schein
on June 8, 2014
Format: Paperback
16 Comments
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Reading through a sample section about Brent Mydland I was surprised to uncover a shocking amount of wildly inaccurate "facts", jumbled chronology and some stunningly amateurish writing. Furthermore, upon politely pointing out the factual inaccuracies and confusing chronology to the author he responded by throwing a tantrum of biblical proportions. He removed my corrections from the page, banned me from commenting and proceeded to engage in a message exchange with a friend of mine where he called me all manner of vulgar names (behind my back, of course) and accused the two of us of conspiring to embarrass him. I was going to buy this book, despite the factual inaccuracies and poor writing with which it is plagued, just for the fun of it. But now I suggest that Deadheads opt not to waste their money on it. The more of it I read the more embarrassing it becomes for Mr. Allen. He writes this book, not as someone who CLAIMS to have been to over 250 Dead shows, but rather as if he was retelling a story about a party someone else told him about and which he did not attend.
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By
Serene Voice
on June 8, 2014
Format: Paperback
9 Comments
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If I could review this book with a zero, or negative review, I would. The writing is quite pedestrian and dull. I don't feel as though I'm going on a journey with this author. Rather, as I peruse each page at the brief "look inside", all I want to do is run further out of the story.
You can't judge a book by it's cover. However, you can by the first couple of pages. What those pages are saying is run, don't walk, and find a other author; despite the fancy artwork and connections and name dropping. Knowing the right people does not an author make you. It makes you look sad, as if you're wringing what you can get from an iconic band before it's too late.
As for accuracies/inaccuracies others have mentioned, I'm not a historian. However, if little effort was made to put words together to form interesting and enjoyable sentences, my guess is fact checking isn't a top priority either.
My final advice: No. Just, no.
You can't judge a book by it's cover. However, you can by the first couple of pages. What those pages are saying is run, don't walk, and find a other author; despite the fancy artwork and connections and name dropping. Knowing the right people does not an author make you. It makes you look sad, as if you're wringing what you can get from an iconic band before it's too late.
As for accuracies/inaccuracies others have mentioned, I'm not a historian. However, if little effort was made to put words together to form interesting and enjoyable sentences, my guess is fact checking isn't a top priority either.
My final advice: No. Just, no.
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17 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By
Sunshine
on February 21, 2014
Format: Paperback
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Aces Back to Back came as a very pleasant surprise to me, as most of the recent books about the Grateful Dead now seem to focus on everything but the band. This book focuses on the Grateful Dead, and in grand style. The writer believers the blow-by-blow history of the band in a detailed and dignified manner. I really liked the chapters on Bill Graham and John Barlow and found them insightful. I also enjoyed the way the writer seamlessly leads Albert Hofmann and the history of LSD into the development of the Beat movement, the Sixties, and the Acid Tests. I found the illustrations capture the essence of each person depicted, in particular the one of Phil with Bob and the one of Mickey Hart. The Grateful Dead were a trip, they were just never a trip down memory lane. Neither is Aces Back to Back, which will leave you with nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile. :)
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By
Gina
on July 24, 2014
Format: Paperback
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1 Comment
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I am disappointed in this book. Of all the books covering the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia, so far this is the worst. It seems that it was slapped together quickly. Many "facts" do not jive with the other accounts I have read. The best part are the groovy illustrations. But Scott Allen jumps around and seems to gloss over pretty much everything. Disappointing as I eagerly look forward to reading everything and anything covering the Grateful Dead. I surely recommend Rock Scullys book which is funny well written and detailed about life on the road with the band, or Dark Star also well written and detailed about Jerry Garcia's life an oral biography with many accounts from those who knew him. This book Aces Back to Back is something with a computer to search Google, almost anyone could put together. I only gave 3 stars because I do appreciate the illustrations and because I love anything about GD. But this is shameful... seems like someone wanted to make a quick buck. Nothing really new and even stuff read/heard before is not covered very well. The whole blind date thing is really an example of what a poor storyteller the author is. And the chapters named after songs really makes no sense. Calling the book the history of the Grateful Dead is inaccurate since it is incomplete and goes off on tangents unrelated to the dead. Do yourself a favor, save your bread and buy a different book or better yet some music by the Grateful Dead. This is not a book you will want to re-read. This review is kynd...because really...any belly who knows me knows I am a deadhead through and through... But come on man!!! With his talents Scott Allen could and should have done better than this...or not done it at all. Oh well. As I said, groovy illustrations.
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