Woodstock: 50 Years of Peace and Music

I missed Woodstock. I was only five years old and was living in Scotland and my parents wouldn't have allowed me to go anyway. All my knowledge for the event itself is tied up in sheer mythology. A massive garden of beautiful child-like beings in the yellow haze of the sun and sprinkled with stardust and wonderful sounds. A half a million strong choir of angels. The one that the punks detested and raged against. I do however remember the punks back in 77. I was 13 going on 14 and was discovering the artists from Woodstock and many more from that era. I loved that era's music and really didn't get the full on trash fashion, undercurrent of violence, misogyny and racism of the punks I knew at school. I preferred the Doors, the Beatles, Syd Barrett, Floyd etc and was fast turning into a full on teenage krautrocker. The whole hippy thing was a dreamlike perception and Woodstock was it's spiritual home. Dan Bukzspan has destroyed that for me and replaced it with a real life, visceral perception populated with first hand accounts of the actual event. The book itself is an incredibly in-depth look at the whole event as a human thing, something wonderful that happened that could possibly only ever happened then in history. I feel I have a deeper understanding of the artists, the mindsets of the organisers and promoters and most importantly, a sense that it was real people, playing real instruments, singing real songs to a real audience. I always been told the alleged philosophy of "punk" was to do exactly what you want, be authentic and true to your own integrity, be anti-establishment, be inclusive and non-judgemental of gender, race, religion, culture and promote individual freedom of expression and lifestyle. These performers and people here were doing exactly that and it was being mirrored in Germany at the same time. Two separate country’s youth rejecting their parents ideals and the political baggage. Also, where did many of these images surface from? Loads of them are brand new to me. Get this book, it's an education. I am just about to read it again. Thanks you Mr Bukszpan....man.

Great piece of history for the '60s crowd!

I bought this for my Dad as a birthday present 🎁 He LOVES it! He’s read it twice already. And he really enjoyed the pictures and stories about artists that performed. On a scale of 1-10, this is 💯!

A wonderful book with fabulous pictures throughout, a great 50th anniversary momento. I remember Woodstock and have relived it every year since by watching the movie /dvd and playing the cd's in the car when I'm alone. It was a 'one off' moment in time that could never be replicated. Looking back is a sad but magical memory that I'm glad to have and indeed treasure. If you're of a certain age and remember the festival fondly too, you'll love this book, it's one to treasure, for sure. ✌️

So much has been written about Woodstock, but I was really blown away by how fresh and interesting this book was. It mostly focuses on the people behind the festival, the organizers, the technicians, the volunteer doctors and cooks, and of course the musicians. Built around interviews with many of the key people who made the show happen, you get a real ground level view of how the show came together, what went on, what people were thinking before the whole event descended into myth. Everyone who played at the show is covered, not just the top names, and even some of the groups who didn't make it for one reason or another. Great detail like set lists and background on band history and lineups. The element that really pulls the book together is the photographs though. Lots of behind the scenes shots from before, during and after the event. Many of these pictures I've never seen before so a real fresh view on the whole thing.