Here Beside the Rising Tide

Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, and an American Awakening

De: Jim Newton

Narrado por: Jim Newton

A history of the Grateful Dead that kaleidoscopes into an examination of the American counterculture through the life of its iconoclastic frontman, Jerry Garcia, and his merry band

In early 1960’s Palo Alto, Jerry Garcia randomly opened a dictionary to a fable in which an appreciative soul repays the generosity of a traveler by delivering him a fortune, a “gift of the grateful dead.” After a traumatic car accident that injured him and killed a close friend, Garcia had recently resolved to build the life he wanted, which meant making music. He had practiced relentlessly and caromed across the northern California folk and bluegrass scene, gathered up some fellow musicians and formed a band.

Now they had their name.

Following the history of the Grateful Dead means tracking American political and cultural history through a period of tumult and radical reconsideration. The band broke through in 1966 at Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests, parties where the line between performer and audience ceased to exist. The Dead played at the Human Be-In and Woodstock, the occupation of Columbia and the Bail Ball for People’s Park. They took one look at Altamont and passed, hours before it disintegrated into murder. They performed at the base of the Pyramids during a lunar eclipse, at the gates of San Quentin to protest the death penalty, at Madison Square Garden to defend the rainforests, in San Francisco to sound the alarm over AIDS and at Huey Newton’s birthday party. The band waged a thirty-year campaign to explore the meaning of freedom.

The radical message of The Dead, to reject the mainstream and build a bohemian community centered in San Francisco, radiated across the world, manifesting itself in art, music, business, and politics that remain with us today. Here Beside the Rising Tide tells the story of those disparate shafts of light, putting Garcia into a broader context while telling the story of his life.

Nearly a century after his birth, Garcia’s influence stretches onward, expressed in guitar licks and immersion in a gentle and forgiving way of life, one of excellence and gratitude, chasing freedom, living moment to moment, guided by song—the gift of the Grateful Dead.

©2025 Jim Newton (P)2025 Random House Audio

Jerry’s life

Extremely informative and enlightening. For me it fills in many gaps in the life and times of Jerry and the dead.

fantastic

The appreciation of the birth/growth of the Dead along with the political side of the times was a great listen!

Good but not great

When writing about the Grateful Dead, it’s music and the music around them. The book is very good if not great. However, the author interjects outside cultural circumstances which at times feel forced. Further, the off the author in interjects a biased version of politics and this keeps the book in my opinion from being great.

Excellent!

Long time deadhead. This ties the evolution of the Dead to the social upheaval of the times. Well researched and comprehensive. I’m about half way through and I can’t put it down. I’m surprised I’m the first reviewer of this extraordinary biography!

Boring and poorly written.

Was super excited as a long time deadhead. Totally disappointing. Unfortunately, a complete waste of time. This book could have been great, instead the author spends most of his time pushing his political views.

Didn’t expect a book on politics.

Some great information and interesting. Then it becomes a book on politics. We have enough of Fox and CNN giving views, didn’t expect from this book.

Just Ok For Me

I’ve been a GD scholar for a while now, to me it doesn’t really bring any new concepts, thoughts or stories from the Dead that wasn’t covered by McNally in Long Strange Trip. I guess there’s alignment with the culturally/historically significant events of the time (point of the book), but some parallels are a reach. Wasn’t horrible, but again…just OK for me.

If you’re a huge Grateful Dead fan you’ll love it, but if not I’d pass

It was ok, well written and thorough, but I was hoping for way more about American History and not a biography of Jerry Garcia. Just my opinion.