Think "Woodstock" and the mind turns to the seminal 1969 festival that crowned a seismic decade of sex; drugs; and rock 'n' roll. But the town of Woodstock; New York; the original planned venue of the concert; is located over 60 miles from the site to which the fabled half a million flocked. Long before the landmark music festival usurped the name; Woodstock-the tiny Catskills town where Bob Dylan holed up after his infamous 1966 motorcycle accident-was already a key location in the '60s rock landscape.In Small Town Talk; Barney Hoskyns re-creates Woodstock's community of brilliant dysfunctional musicians; scheming dealers; and opportunistic hippie capitalists drawn to the area by Dylan and his sidekicks from the Band. Central to the book's narrative is the broodingly powerful presence of Albert Grossman; manager of Dylan; the Band; Janis Joplin; Paul Butterfield; and Todd Rundgren-and the Big Daddy of a personal fiefdom in Bearsville that encompassed studios; restaurants; and his own record label. Intertwined in the story are the Woodstock experiences and associations of artists as diverse as Van Morrison; Jimi Hendrix; Tim Hardin; Karen Dalton; and Bobby Charles (whose immortal song-portrait of Woodstock gives the book its title).Drawing on numerous first-hand interviews with the remaining key players in the scene-and on the period when he lived there himself in the 1990s-Hoskyns has produced an East Coast companion to his bestselling L.A. canyon classic Hotel California. This is a richly absorbing study of a vital music scene in a revolutionary time and place.
#431110 in Books W J Wood 2003-12-25 2003-12-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .75 x 6.00l; .92 #File Name: 0306813297356 pagesBattles of the Revolutionary War 1775 1781
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Revolutionary War Battle StrategyBy Steven T. DixonI am particularly interested in the battle strategies employed by our Revolutionary War leaders. Woods book does indeed cover this aspect of the Revolutionary War with respect to selected battles. And importantly; he does not take a rose-colored view of George Washington; as a military leader; but shows how he learned over time and got better at battle strategy. Wood's book underscores David McCullough's thesis in "1776" that the success of the American revolution was anything but a given. The American revolution held by a thread for a number of years. The reason I gave Wood's book 4 rather than 5 stars is that the combination of text and graphics did not always give me the contextual understanding that I seek. Alternating between the text and the battle charts; I could not always tell what happened and most importantly; why. Woods did emphasize the current information available to the military leaders on the field of battle. And this is key to understanding the actions taken. But I wish he could have given us a better understanding of the moves made on the field of battle particularly in the larger more complex battles.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Well written in a conversational styleBy TomRThe book had very good descriptions of several battles of the Revolutionary War. I am curious though; why the Battle of Monmouth wasn't included. The maps would have been quite a bit more useful is they were more clearly reproduced in this e-book version. Navigation was a little difficult and e-books still have the problem of not being able to easily page back and forth to reference the map. Why no map of the Yorktown land campaigne? This is still a worthwhile read and of interest.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great little book.By Michael BeckA very well written book about the battles only of the war.
