Great first-hand, concise account by the man who dreamt up and organized the Woodstock Festival. Also includes many recollections from other people involved, as well as musicians who performed.

One of those books I am going to wish I could read again for the first time.

I have long been obsessed with Woodstock, the momentous 3 day event that changed peoples minds and hearts by representing a counterculture that was being misrepresented by the media. Lang’s account of the legendary event and the months leading up to Woodstock is the most vivid and accurate retelling someone could ask for.

Significant amount of happenings I never knew about. Told from an interesting perspective :)

2.5 stars

Ever since my teens I've loved the 60s and Woodstock, and if I could time travel to one time in history this would be it. Needless to say, I was excited about this book. Unfortunately, it fell short. There were some interesting bits of information, but overall I thought it was a bit long-winded and boring. For a large part it felt like an endless list of people and their jobs and I had difficulties keeping them all straight. Usually I prefer books over movies, but in this case I much rather watch a documentary than read the book.

This is the definitive book on the 1969 Woodstock music festival. Written by organizer Michael Lang, The Road to Woodstock details his early life, how he got into the music business, and how he came up with the idea of a massive concert. Along with partner Artie Kornfeld, Lang approached venture capitalists Joel Rosenman and John Roberts to help plan and fund the iconic concert weekend. The weekend was meant to only cater to approximately 200,000 concert goers, but more than 1/2 million people attended. The plans for the concert was not without its issues, as the men dealt with venue, security, food, and sanitation issues. Many details, including the venue spot, was not determined until the final weeks of preparation. Throughout the 3 days and beyond, other issues arose that were dealt with on the fly and the results turned out to be a rare event of music and peace that has never been duplicated.

Lang's candid book covered Woodstock from inception until well after the concertgoers were gone. It is well written, never boring, yet full of details and amazing stories from interviews with participants and attendees. What an amazing weekend it must have been despite the chaos and constant rain. This is a must-read for the music enthusiast.