Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock and How It Changed a Generation - Softcover

"I have turned down tickets to every Woodstock there's been, for the same reason: rock 'n' roll and camping have nothing in common. If you'd like to make up your own mind, tune in to "Back to the Garden", Pete Fornatale's fine history of whatever hit 'em up there (in addition to the brown acid or brown rice, whichever it was). From Richie Havens to the endless repercussions, this is the tale...and even a veteran antihippie like me has to recognize it as an indispensable document of rock history." -- Dave Marsh "Pete Fornatale is a great music historian and one of the best broadcasters in America. His book "Back to the Garden" actually made me feel like I attended Woodstock myself. I recommend it highly." -- Brian Wilson "The myth of Woodstock is something in my mind that is very close to the reality. Kids today are drawn to the place. It is the history of our musical past and our artistic past. It is a story that needs to be told and I trust my friend forever Pete Fornatale to tell it." -- Richie Havens

On Friday, August 15, 1969, a crowd of 400,000 - an unprecedented and unexpected number at the time - gathered on Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York for a weekend of rock 'n' roll, the new form of American music that had emerged only a decade earlier. For America's counterculture youth, Woodstock became a symbol of more than just sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - it was about peace, love and a new way of living. It was a seminal event that epitomized the ways that the culture, the country, and the core values of an entire generation were shifting. On one glorious weekend, this generation found its voice through one outlet: music. Back to the Gardencelebrates the music and the spirit of Woodstock through the words of some of the era's biggest musical stars, as well as those who participated in the festival. From Richie Havens's legendary opening act to the Who's violent performance, from the Grateful Dead's jam to Jefferson Airplane's wake-up call, culminating in Jimi Hendrix's career-defining moment, Fornatale brings new stories to light and sets the record straight on some common misperceptions. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, authoritative and highly entertaining, Back to the Gardenis the fascinating story of three days that changed the world.