What do you think?
Rate this book
Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World
It defined a generation, exemplified an era: Woodstock was unlike anything that has ever happened before or since—and August 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of this seminal event. Relive the moment and “get back to the garden” with this day-by-day, act-by-act account of everything that went down on Yasgur’s Farm. With interviews and quotes from those who were there—the musicians, the fans, the organizers—and a wealth of photographs and graphic memorabilia, Woodstock is the ultimate celebration of a landmark in modern cultural history.
Woodstock is organized in three parts:
- Origins sets the stage by describing the counterculture of the time, along with the festival’s organization, fundraising, buzz-building tactics, ticket selling and publicity, and site building.
- The Event—the heart of the project—includes a log with a run-down of each of the 32 acts, in the order they appeared, one spread to each name. Fans and politics are also featured prominently here.
- The Aftermath focuses on media coverage, follow-up festivals, Michael Wadleigh and Thelma Schoonmaker’s documentary, and Woodstock’s enduring legacy.
Woodstock is organized in three parts:
- Origins sets the stage by describing the counterculture of the time, along with the festival’s organization, fundraising, buzz-building tactics, ticket selling and publicity, and site building.
- The Event—the heart of the project—includes a log with a run-down of each of the 32 acts, in the order they appeared, one spread to each name. Fans and politics are also featured prominently here.
- The Aftermath focuses on media coverage, follow-up festivals, Michael Wadleigh and Thelma Schoonmaker’s documentary, and Woodstock’s enduring legacy.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2009
About the author
Mike Evans
47 books12 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Read
April 10, 2020One day, I will visit Max Yasgur’s farm. I will see where this iconic festival took place.
This was a fascinating look into what happened behind-the-scenes during Woodstock. It also gave us a look into each artist’s performance and how they felt about it. A very interesting read if you like the vibe of 1969 and the music of that time. The vintage photographs really sold this book for me. What a time.
This was a fascinating look into what happened behind-the-scenes during Woodstock. It also gave us a look into each artist’s performance and how they felt about it. A very interesting read if you like the vibe of 1969 and the music of that time. The vintage photographs really sold this book for me. What a time.
April 10, 2018
This is a wonderful retrospective of the iconic 3-day music and arts festival known as Woodstock. Full of colorful photos from the weekend event, this book also details the organization of the concert as well as the individual performances. Specific information includes the time that each act performed, set lists, and band members. The book is also full of quotes and oral histories of participants and attendees. Behind the scenes information and pictures are also included. This is a great coffee table book for the Woodstock fan.
At first glance the book looks to be a bit discombobulated due to the color and look of the text throughout, but as you read you find it to have a wealth of information and the pictures are fascinating.
At first glance the book looks to be a bit discombobulated due to the color and look of the text throughout, but as you read you find it to have a wealth of information and the pictures are fascinating.
February 7, 2020
Really hard for me to write a review because i cannot seem to actually enjoy reading non fiction books.
March 28, 2012
Okay, maybe they didn't really need all that introductory social-studies background material...and toward the end it did tend to get a bit sappy, and started sounding like some promotional brochure for that museum thingie. But the bulk of it was enthralling, particularly the act-by-act play-by-play (with starting times to match). A marvelous marriage of pictures, narrative and pull-quotes! I loved the balance too (Pete Townshend on what a bunch of nuts everyone was, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull's comment about not wanting to play in front of "half a million unwashed hippies"). Oh yeah, and there was Melanie's "candles in the rain" moment, John Fogerty playing his whole set with CCR to that one guy who called out that he was still awake (and listening), and The Band feeling like "orphans in the storm" there (at least, according to Robbie Robertson). At the end you're left with the feeling that it was concurrently a national disaster AND a transcendent musical experience (lol). They also covered some very interesting stuff after the main commentary: the no-shows/refuseniks (along with their various reasons) and the Isle of Wight 1969 concert (not the one they made the movie about, it turned out, but the year before, where Dylan played...even though he for some reason refused to play Woodstock [just go and try to figure THAT guy out]). All in all, a colossal and captivating read...the next best thing to laying there all mud-soaked and drenched yourself for three days and nights. :) In closing, I can do no better than to quote one of the more legendary attendees, the Reverend Jim Ignatowski: "Hey, I just realized that if I hadn't been there there would've only been 499,999 people. It's a good thing for them I showed up!"
May 27, 2019
Wow I love this historical book. I was 13 when Woodstock happened, I was 16 I skipped school, took the train to Boston with a friend and saw the film. The whole book is fascinating and I don’t want to miss anything. Reading each page fills me with musical and political memories. This is the one that will win Goodreads Best Non-fiction 2019.
July 12, 2019
Lots of fun images of the festival and the stories of how it came to be, why it was actually elsewhere in upstate New York (rather than in Woodstock itself) and how to draw more than 300,000 people to the site...many of whom never ended up actually getting there...or, if they were lucky, ditched their vehicles along the way and had to walk 15 miles into the site.
The book give a day-to-day account of the "three days that rocked the world" and told a bit about the aftermath throughout the next 50 years!
I liked hearing the stories of all of the performers, although much more attention was paid to the "counterculture" at the time...rather than the music, which was really what the festival was remembered for in later years.
The book give a day-to-day account of the "three days that rocked the world" and told a bit about the aftermath throughout the next 50 years!
I liked hearing the stories of all of the performers, although much more attention was paid to the "counterculture" at the time...rather than the music, which was really what the festival was remembered for in later years.
July 27, 2020
This book gives background on the pre-festival activities; timelines, set lists and brief reviews of each performer at the festival; some stray quotations from the musicians, staff or attendees; and some bits on the aftermath and influence of the festival. It's a coffee table book: no more, no less. A good introduction, but not the beating heart.
Frankly, I thought it painted the festival as a miserable experience (the extreme difficulty in reaching the festival due to guests underestimated by the hundreds of thousands, the rain/rain delays, many acts starting after midnight meaning you'd have to choose between sleep and missing the music, the lack of facilities and food), but I guess it may not have been a legend without it going off despite all the hitches.
Frankly, I thought it painted the festival as a miserable experience (the extreme difficulty in reaching the festival due to guests underestimated by the hundreds of thousands, the rain/rain delays, many acts starting after midnight meaning you'd have to choose between sleep and missing the music, the lack of facilities and food), but I guess it may not have been a legend without it going off despite all the hitches.
July 25, 2019
An excellent coffee table book because it combined great pictures with a lot of great text. Great behind the scenes stories, little know facts, clearing up lots of misconceptions about the event, background info on how the event was put together and overcoming so many obstacles only to be faced with horrific conditions. For those of you who have only seen the movie, the real version is a totally different story.
One last aside are the comments from people like Pete Townshend, Neil Young and Dylan who really didn't like the hippies and liked the whole experience even less.
One last aside are the comments from people like Pete Townshend, Neil Young and Dylan who really didn't like the hippies and liked the whole experience even less.
October 17, 2023
"Woodstock" is the perfect book to quench your curiosity about this pivotal moment in history. It provides an in-depth exploration of the cultural and social dynamics of that era, and it allows you to relive the magic of the Woodstock Festival, a symbol of the counterculture movement of the late 1960s. The book is a gateway to understanding the spirit of that time and how music played a central role in bringing people together for a message of peace and love. I'm sure you'll find it both enlightening and captivating. Happy reading!
September 3, 2018
Great photos and interesting stories about what happened behind the scenes of Woodstock. While reading you get a better understanding of just what a feat it was to have pulled off a concert of this magnitude in 1969. I loved all the backstories about the artists and the organizers. Just an all around good read.
July 18, 2023
This was a present from a mate. I enjoyed reading it. Loads of great photos. It was very interesting to hear how this major event got away with absolute carnage behind the scenes, before the health and safety culture kicked in. I often wish I was born 30 years earlier!
June 1, 2019
A nice coffee table book that commemorates the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
June 28, 2019
Best book I've read yet on the 3 day festival.
April 28, 2021
Good insight into the very famous Woodstock festival of Summer ‘69.
If you weren’t there, this book is the next best thing.
If you weren’t there, this book is the next best thing.
August 4, 2020
Woodstock
This is not a book to read on Kindle or at least not to read on my Kindle.
I am assuming that this is a coffee table book in large format which was lost on my Kindle. Photos went over several pages so that I couldn’t see them in their entirety as did information on the performers. This didn’t make for a smooth read.
2019 was the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival or ‘3 days of peace, music and love’ as the ads for the film said at the time. 1969 was an auspicious year with the Moon landings, the Vietnam War, Tricky Dicky in the White House and the infamous Manson family murders. Woodstock was almost the last gasp of the hippie dream and a peaceful gathering of the tribes.
I think that this book is aimed at those who were there or those who wanted to be there. I was too young and didn’t live in America. But I do remember the haunting version of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’ performed by Matthews Southern Comfort that was No I in the charts in 1970. The song was written for the festival.
Woodstock – naïve optimism? It was almost the forerunner of the Glastonbury Festival and run on a wing and a prayer. The 4 organisers expected 50,000 people to turn up and actually had 500,000 arrive. They jammed all the roads leading to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in NY state as they came to see 30 acts over 3 days in August. There was only one stage and it soon became a free festival when they could no longer collect or sell tickets. I’ve never been a festival goer and it sounded like an endurance test with not enough food, bathrooms, water and minimal security. Locals helped provide food on flatbed trucks. At one stage, NY Governor, Nelson Rockefeller wanted to send in the National Guard to disperse the crowd, but, according to the author, Michael Green, there ‘wasn’t one isolated act of reported violence’ throughout the festival.
The book is manly composed of his and others memories of Woodstock. Pete Townshend wasn’t fully in the love vibe when he told activist Abbie Hoffman to get off his f*****g stage while AH was making an impromptu speech. The Who would be superstars after their show.
For some acts their Woodstock performance would be career changing especially for Richie Havens and Santana. Arlo Guthrie, one of Woody’s 8 children is renowned for his charity work and a clip of him performing ‘Coming into Los Angeles’ from the Woodstock film appeared in the 1971 film ‘The Omega Man’ starring Charlton Heston. It was a post-apocalyptic film with Woodstock being a reminder of a long vanished world.
The bands at Woodstock were a mixed bag: Country Joe McDonald with his Fish Cheer and the Grateful Dead who were reputed to have sent the audience to sleep during their set. However festival goers were reputed to have consumed 600k tons of marijuana, according to Green, so that may have helped. Sly and the Family Stone were at the height of their powers and Jimi Hendrix was paid one of the highest fees. However there were those who appeared but weren’t on the film such as Neil Young and Johnny and Edgar Winters. The latter took their then manager’s advice and may have regretted it ever since.
One of the more bizarre bands to appear was the doo wop revival group Sha-na-na who are still performing today. They were clad in gold lame jackets and I’m sure that a half-stoned audience may have wondered what exactly what was happening onstage.
One couple featured in the book went to Woodstock together, got married later and are still married today as are the couple embracing on the cover of the Woodstock soundtrack album – Nick and Bobbi Ercoline.
The book includes band photos, set lists, personnel and the fee they were each paid, photos of the festival and the audience.
I think you had to be there to actually appreciate Woodstock. But Altamont was waiting in the wings and things were never the same again.
Thank you Netgalley for a Kindle edition.
This is not a book to read on Kindle or at least not to read on my Kindle.
I am assuming that this is a coffee table book in large format which was lost on my Kindle. Photos went over several pages so that I couldn’t see them in their entirety as did information on the performers. This didn’t make for a smooth read.
2019 was the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival or ‘3 days of peace, music and love’ as the ads for the film said at the time. 1969 was an auspicious year with the Moon landings, the Vietnam War, Tricky Dicky in the White House and the infamous Manson family murders. Woodstock was almost the last gasp of the hippie dream and a peaceful gathering of the tribes.
I think that this book is aimed at those who were there or those who wanted to be there. I was too young and didn’t live in America. But I do remember the haunting version of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’ performed by Matthews Southern Comfort that was No I in the charts in 1970. The song was written for the festival.
Woodstock – naïve optimism? It was almost the forerunner of the Glastonbury Festival and run on a wing and a prayer. The 4 organisers expected 50,000 people to turn up and actually had 500,000 arrive. They jammed all the roads leading to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in NY state as they came to see 30 acts over 3 days in August. There was only one stage and it soon became a free festival when they could no longer collect or sell tickets. I’ve never been a festival goer and it sounded like an endurance test with not enough food, bathrooms, water and minimal security. Locals helped provide food on flatbed trucks. At one stage, NY Governor, Nelson Rockefeller wanted to send in the National Guard to disperse the crowd, but, according to the author, Michael Green, there ‘wasn’t one isolated act of reported violence’ throughout the festival.
The book is manly composed of his and others memories of Woodstock. Pete Townshend wasn’t fully in the love vibe when he told activist Abbie Hoffman to get off his f*****g stage while AH was making an impromptu speech. The Who would be superstars after their show.
For some acts their Woodstock performance would be career changing especially for Richie Havens and Santana. Arlo Guthrie, one of Woody’s 8 children is renowned for his charity work and a clip of him performing ‘Coming into Los Angeles’ from the Woodstock film appeared in the 1971 film ‘The Omega Man’ starring Charlton Heston. It was a post-apocalyptic film with Woodstock being a reminder of a long vanished world.
The bands at Woodstock were a mixed bag: Country Joe McDonald with his Fish Cheer and the Grateful Dead who were reputed to have sent the audience to sleep during their set. However festival goers were reputed to have consumed 600k tons of marijuana, according to Green, so that may have helped. Sly and the Family Stone were at the height of their powers and Jimi Hendrix was paid one of the highest fees. However there were those who appeared but weren’t on the film such as Neil Young and Johnny and Edgar Winters. The latter took their then manager’s advice and may have regretted it ever since.
One of the more bizarre bands to appear was the doo wop revival group Sha-na-na who are still performing today. They were clad in gold lame jackets and I’m sure that a half-stoned audience may have wondered what exactly what was happening onstage.
One couple featured in the book went to Woodstock together, got married later and are still married today as are the couple embracing on the cover of the Woodstock soundtrack album – Nick and Bobbi Ercoline.
The book includes band photos, set lists, personnel and the fee they were each paid, photos of the festival and the audience.
I think you had to be there to actually appreciate Woodstock. But Altamont was waiting in the wings and things were never the same again.
Thank you Netgalley for a Kindle edition.
August 12, 2013
My sister and I recently finished recording our second album of music, and while we were in the studio, I read this book. The studio owner is a huge music history buff, and has taken the time to stock his shelves with books covering every aspect of the industry that you can think of. I saw this one sitting there, and because I've always wanted to learn a bit more about Woodstock, I decided to give it a shot.
It gave a fairly methodical overview of what took place during the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. I think the introduction could have been done differently. It attempted to explain the background behind the festival, but it needed to be either more in-depth or more pithy, one or the other.
Each act that performed at the festival was given its own spread, in the order of their performance. There were excellent photos on every page, and many of the most famous (or infamous) moments and happenings of Woodstock were related. One of the most striking photos was one that was taken from the air far above the festival, when audience numbers were at their peak (roughly 500,000 people). It looks, as many of the musicians commented on as they were being flown in, like a field of flowers. Just insane.
This is a good book to start with if you're looking to learn more about this event. Be forewarned, there are pictures with nudity... which I suppose is to be expected when you're dealing with Woodstock...
It gave a fairly methodical overview of what took place during the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. I think the introduction could have been done differently. It attempted to explain the background behind the festival, but it needed to be either more in-depth or more pithy, one or the other.
Each act that performed at the festival was given its own spread, in the order of their performance. There were excellent photos on every page, and many of the most famous (or infamous) moments and happenings of Woodstock were related. One of the most striking photos was one that was taken from the air far above the festival, when audience numbers were at their peak (roughly 500,000 people). It looks, as many of the musicians commented on as they were being flown in, like a field of flowers. Just insane.
This is a good book to start with if you're looking to learn more about this event. Be forewarned, there are pictures with nudity... which I suppose is to be expected when you're dealing with Woodstock...
September 7, 2010
I had just turned 19 and finished my first year of college - working all summer to earn some cash, I gladly bought the festival tickets beforehand and left for three days of peace and music only to come away with a greater edification - that people can come together under adversity and live in harmony.
Powerful photos appropriated placed between well-researched content and quotes, this book covers a generational phenomenon, an event spoiled with avaricious promoters, selfish performers, drugged induced euphoria/psychosis (not part of my lifestyle), and drenched-to-the bone rain; yet, it was the spirit of festival - peace and love - and the primal human effort to adapt and survive and make the world whole that will remain in my memory, and so well documented within the pages of this effectively written and visually mesmerizing account of the Woodstock Nation.
Powerful photos appropriated placed between well-researched content and quotes, this book covers a generational phenomenon, an event spoiled with avaricious promoters, selfish performers, drugged induced euphoria/psychosis (not part of my lifestyle), and drenched-to-the bone rain; yet, it was the spirit of festival - peace and love - and the primal human effort to adapt and survive and make the world whole that will remain in my memory, and so well documented within the pages of this effectively written and visually mesmerizing account of the Woodstock Nation.
August 11, 2020
It just never gets old (sigh*). I missed going to Woodstock by a hair.. So I never get tired of anything having to do with Woodstock (except anniversary concerts((Nope.))) I loved the idea of Woodstock, the music, the whole vibe was so wonderful and so is this book. If you were there-you lived it(!)- if you missed it, you can live the event vicariously again and again. I have learned so much about Woodstock over the years. It just boggles the mind that a half a million young adults could gather together in one place and there was no violence! Would that could happen again today. Such a sad world it's become. But we had one bright, shiny moment in Woodstock! Thank you Mike Greenblatt. Wonderful book!
I received a Kindle copy from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle copy from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
September 15, 2019
I was watching a documentary on the 50th Anniversary of Woodstock, unfortunately I was too young to attend, and it resonated with me so much that I wanted to have a book about the whole experience. In this world of so much hate it was a breath of fresh air to read about people coming together to enjoy some first class music, without violence. This book had lots of pictures interviews with artist and spectators and I will cherish it forever. Very interesting and with pits of information that were new to me. A great coffee table book that would make an awesome gift too.
August 26, 2010
I just watched Now and Then Woodstock on VH1 the other night and went and got this from the library to learn a little more. It's a great book, huge and full of all sorts of great photos and information by the people who put on Woodstock. I really liked how all of the artists were listed in the order they performed and the song lists and memories from a lot of them are included. If you have any interest in Woodstock, I would recommend this.
March 19, 2013
This book takes us to a time when peace and war had a bigger influence on people. Filled with pictures and quotations from some of the most talented and legendary performers of all times, Woodstock even makes us feel as if we were backstage while 400,000 stoned, soaked and muddy peace-loving people were waiting on us to go out on that stage and rock their brains out. Loved it.
October 28, 2012
I paid for my tickets, cried when they announced it was a free concert. Got personal with lots of people I didn't know. Heard wonderful music and got to live through a special moment in history. COOL!
January 6, 2010
An absolutely beautiful, big and informative coffee table book you'll not just leave on the coffee table, but you will peruse thru it, regularly! Fans of the music festival will NOT be disappointed.
July 26, 2011
Enjoyed it. (This review was created in July 2011, long after I read the book.)
June 6, 2019
Awesome! Great background information too.
January 31, 2010
Quick easy read.
April 4, 2017
This was a very interesting book and an easy read. It was documentary-style and really gave insight to the entire event. Great pictures, quotes and information behind the scenes.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews