The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is obvious in the writing of this book. There were many facts that I only discovered after reading this!

This was a typical compendium of Woodstock events. Not great, but still interesting. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

Woodstock 50th Anniversary by Mike Greenblatt was received direct from the publisher and I chose to review it. Woodstock, the musical event of the decade happened when I was a wee tike in flyover country surrounded by deplorables. I would have loved too have been there and I love to watch shows and read books about the event. This particular book, being the 50th Anniversary "telling" of the Woodstock story, did a good job of telling the Woodstock story without being boring and adding photographs I had not seen before from the event. If you, or someone you buy gifts for want to read about this event, some behind the scenes information, some audience stories, etc. Give this book a read, though I HIGHLY suggest a hard copy, it is not a good Kindle book due to the photos and formatting. Keep in mind the 1960's were as turbulent as todays times, yet there is no way we could get half a million people together at one place and not have immense riots, I mean "peaceful protests," like we do nowadays.

4 Stars

I enjoyed this book, though there are much better books that i have read on woodstock. I did find it interesting and informative, it just wasn't great.
The pictures some that i have never seen before were an added bonus. Last year (2019) being the 50th anniversary of this monumental event, it was great to reminisce about it.

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.

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!

An interesting and well written book full of photos and anecdotes about Woodstock.
I liked how the book is organised and stories about this legendary musical events.
A great book if you want to learn something new.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Woodstock 50th Anniversary Back to Yagur's Farm is a retrospective collection of memories and photographs of one of the most iconic watershed moments of the 20th century. Released 9th July 2019 by Penguin Random House on their Krause imprint, it's 224 pages and available in hardcover format.

This is a well put together book full of history and lots and lots of photos. There are photos of the bands who played there and their playlists at the festival as well as the performance fees they were to receive. There are also numerous photos of the people who flocked to Woodstock to experience a defining moment in modern history.

There were quotes from many people who were there along with some insightful follow-ups 50 years later. Obviously some are no longer with us, but many of the half a million young people who showed up are still alive. I particularly liked the then-and-now reminiscences from the couple who were pictured in the instantly recognizable photo from 1969 hugging each other wrapped in a blanket. (Spoiler, they're still together and in this book).

This is an interesting and well written book. Four stars. (The eARC I received for review comprised about 35% of the finished content but was complete enough to make a thorough evaluation).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.