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The Road To Woodstock (2009)

by Michael Lang(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0061576557 (ISBN13: 9780061576553)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Ecco

review 1: I keep taking breaks from reading this book and reading something else. But I am really enjoying this visit to the past...circa 1969) learning so much more about the planning, problems, and people leading up to the biggest music festival ever. I didn't go (was a divorcee with two young children) but I was living the events as I was finishing my undergraduate studies at Colorado State. Woodstock and its music had a tremendous impact on my life.
review 2: While the book is not a great piece of literature, it really captures this moment in time. It is festival promoter Michael Lang's memoir of the event, so it clearly comes from a particular point of view, but it does contain the recollections of dozens of participants: organizers, builders, musicians, fest... moreival-goers. My knowledge of the Woodstock festival came from a combination of being an interested 14-year-old in 1969, seeing the movie and listening to albums, reading the occasional article, and most recently, visiting the festival site, which is now a beautiful performing arts center and museum. This book fills in a lot of the gaps, and dispels some long held beliefs, while confirming others. Above all else, the book confirms something that I gathered from a visit to the site, and that is the identity of the true "heroes" of Woodstock. I give credit to Michael Lang for his tireless efforts to make it happen, but he was a promoter and did not shy away from being disingenuous when it came to trying to "sell" the event to local communities. And while I love the music of that era, the book made it clear how selfish some of the performers were as they decided to perform their music while doing some serious drugs, regardless of the impact on the quality of their performance. No, to me the true heroes were: Hugh Romney (aka, "Wavy Gravy") the leader of the Hog Farm commune who spent the weekend feeding people, diffusing tense situations, and dealing with people who were having bad trips; and most importantly: Max Yasgur, the conservative Sullivan Country farmer who made his land available to the festival, figured out his fee with a pencil and paper and his brain cells (and never asked for a penny more, unlike some of the "beautiful people" like Abby Hoffman), and worked all weekend to help make it happen, despite suffering from the heart ailment that would take his life four years later. If only he could see the wonderful center that is now on his land. less

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