So Many Roads

The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead

By: David Browne

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

No longer dismissed as relics of the hippie era, a new generation has lionized the Dead for creating a culture that paved the way for social networking, free music swapping, and the uncompromising anticorporate attitude of indie rock. Now, fifty years after the band first began changing rock 'n' roll both sonically and psychically, So Many Roads paints the most vivid portrait yet of the Grateful Dead, one of the most enduring institutions in American music and culture.

©2015 Original Material by David Browne (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Great first book on the Dead

Would you listen to So Many Roads again? Why?

The writing is exceptional and the reader brings life to a interesting topic. I love the Dead and this is my first book on them.

Excellent and thorough history

If you could sum up So Many Roads in three words, what would they be?

An interesting apporach

What other book might you compare So Many Roads to and why?

Almost any rock biography

What about Sean Runnette’s performance did you like?

Clear without being dry.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A strange trip deconstructed.

Any additional comments?

A nice, comprehensive band bio that doesn't shy away from some of the darker stuff. Basing each chapter around a specific show/date adds just enough variety to keep it from being the "same old, same old" band bio. Good stuff for fans and newcomers alike.

"It's good to know, you've got shoes to wear when you find the floor, Why hold out for more..."

Very good book! Very Interesting with a different perspective and treatment of the story of the Grateful Dead - very poignant - fare thee well

BEST Grateful Dead Bio!

While not perfect it is an amazing journey.

The format of basing each chapter on a show and discussing the atmosphere leading up to and after is unique.

It delves more unflinchingly into the dysfunctional nature of the Dead and laves me a bit sad for opportunities lost due to self absorption and abuse.

As someone who witnessed the band quite often from the mid 70's to ~'93 when I could not take it any more it was interesting to hear the back story of the demise.

Far and away BETTER than McNally's book who was too close and unwilling to paint too negative a picture.

It's not all a bummer though! Plenty of great stories and anecdotes I had no clue about.

If you've read/heard McNally's don't worry this adds to the story and does not rehash the same stuff.

One of my top 10 audio books and I have well over 100!

Runnette is pretty good and since he narrates the McNally book makes for one giant story it seems. He's a little too East Coast clinical but that's much better than the stoned surfer that's narrating Kreutzman's book! He's clear and concise and easy on the ears for long periods.

Loved it, got bored... awesome ending

The beginning of the book is great. The middle gets tied up in lots of small and uninteresting stuff. The last chapter and epilogue pull the book together for a great ending. Comprehensive history of the Dead for someone who didn't know much of the history.

Who, what, when, where, even some why and how

Much more of a fact filled documentary than say, Kreutzman's Deal, This will be of interest only to diehard Deadheads. It was like reading through everyone's combined appointment books, rather removed from the feeling of the experience. Still it filled in some gaps for me.

Deadhead

I thought this history brought a little more insight into the inner workings of the band and associated staff.
I heard band member opinions I hadn't heard before and I've read dozens of books on the Dead . I was pleasantly surprised to glean a bit more from this book !

A great read about the band just before their "fare thee well tour".

Browne manages to present the material in a new and previously untold way, not easy to do after all the other books that have been released about the band. I couldn't put it down, surprising because I've read at least half a dozen books about the Dead already. I really loved it.

Grateful Perspective

I’ve read several books on The Grateful Dead, and loved them all.
This one had a great, more outside fan point of view than the others written by band members and family. I learned a lot of “fun facts” in this book and it really shows the history of the band, members, and side projects and spin off projects that were created and/or inspired by The Grateful Dead! It goes deep and I found myself saying “who knew” throughout the audible. I also like to listen to the audible, and switch back and forth from a mentioned song or concert in the book! It takes a lot longer ti finish, but makes the experience feel like a personal memory…
So many roads❤️

average book

it's ok. mostly a rehashing of other books without much insight from the band itself

A Good Starting Point

Would you listen to So Many Roads again? Why?

Yes I would, if nothing else, just to get a sense of history of the band. It's made me want to go back and listen to the music again too.

What other book might you compare So Many Roads to, and why?

Difficult to say really - it's a good beginner's guide to the story of the phenomenon that was the Grateful Dead

What does Sean Runnette bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

A langrous laid back and easy going style that seems to capture the essence of the story and the music

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story of Jerry Garcia's first health issue in 1986 and the subsequent revitalisation of the group

Any additional comments?

If you are a Dead Head, then there will be nothing new under the sun to you here. If however, you are discovering the band for the first time or returning to them after pushing them to the back of your music collection, this is a good companion to the music. Listen. Enjoy.