The Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Volume 1: An In-Depth Guide to the Music of the Grateful Dead on Tape, 1959-1974
Michael Getz and John Dwork are serious deadheads. The two  "passionately and relentlessly record and trade the Dead's music  on tape." Who better then to compile a "database" of  recorded Grateful Dead music? In this, the first volume, Getz and  Dwork cover the years 1959 (the date of the first pre-Grateful Dead  recordings) to 1974 (the year the band took an 18-month hiatus from  touring). The listings are chronological and include the location of  each show, the set list, source and length information, a quality  rating, and a review of the recording.Just in case this mass of detailed information about every known  Grateful Dead recording made over an almost-20-year period does not  satisfy your yen for the Dead, the book includes a centerfold of color  photos of the band in concert. Additionally, the authors introduce the  compendium with a philosophical assessment of the taping phenomenon,  and interviews with the likes of soundman Owsley "Bear"  Stanley and official Dead tape archivist Dick Latvala. A smattering of  black-and-white photos and reproductions of original ticket stubs are  sprinkled throughout. This book is almost sure to extend the long,  strange trip of the Grateful Dead fan who opens it.