
Mother American Night
My Life in Crazy Times
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Narrated by:
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Ray Porter
About this listen
John Perry Barlow’s wild ride with the Grateful Dead was just part of a Zelig-like life that took him from a childhood as ranching royalty in Wyoming to membership in the Internet Hall of Fame as a digital free speech advocate.
Mother American Night is the wild, funny, heartbreaking, and often unbelievable (yet completely true) story of an American icon. Born into a powerful Wyoming political family, John Perry Barlow wrote the lyrics for thirty Grateful Dead songs while also running his family’s cattle ranch. He hung out in Andy Warhol’s Factory, went on a date with the Dalai Lama’s sister, and accidentally shot Bob Weir in the face on the eve of his own wedding. As a favor to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Barlow mentored a young JFK Jr., and the two then became lifelong friends. Despite being a freely self-confessed acidhead, he served as Dick Cheney’s campaign manager during Cheney’s first run for Congress. And after befriending a legendary early group of computer hackers known as the Legion of Doom, Barlow became a renowned Internet guru who then co-founded the groundbreaking Electronic Frontier Foundation.
His résumé only hints of the richness of a life lived on the edge. Blessed with an incredible sense of humor and a unique voice, Barlow was a born storyteller in the tradition of Mark Twain and Will Rogers. Through intimate portraits of friends and acquaintances from Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia to Timothy Leary and Steve Jobs, Mother American Night traces the generational passage by which the counterculture became the culture, and it shows why learning to accept love may be the hardest thing we ever ask of ourselves.
©2018 John Perry Barlow and Robert Greenfield (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Wondrous tales of the hippie highway by Grateful Dead lyricist and internet pioneer Barlow. The author died recently after a long series of illnesses that form a moody counterpoint to the general anarchist fun of his memoir. That may be a good thing considering that the statute of limitations may not yet have run out for various of the hijinks he recounts here...[Barlow] writes with rough grace and considerable poetic power...[Mother American Night] is a yarn to read, with pleasure, alongside Ringolevio and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Breezy, connected by ceaselessly mind-blowing anecdotes, and bubbling over with psychedelic wisdom, Mother American Night will become the crucial document for understanding the life and work of the internet pioneer and Dead collaborator. The fun is infectious..." (Wired)
"The first thing I noticed in reading Mother American Night was Barlow's voice...his incredible gift of language, combined with his habit of manicuring his anecdotes to carefully calculated rough-hewn perfection, shining through with unmistakable glory. Barlow is one of the world's greatest storytellers... This is an essential, beautifully written book that is full of humor and tragedy and revelation." (Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing)
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Story
For almost three decades, the Grateful Dead was America's most popular touring band. No Simple Highway is the first book to ask the simple question of why - and attempt to answer it. Drawing on new research, interviews, and a fresh supply of material from the Grateful Dead archives, author Peter Richardson vividly recounts the Dead's colorful history, adding new insight into everything from the Acid Tests to the band's formation of their own record label to their massive late career success, while probing the riddle of the Dead's vast and durable appeal.
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Best of the dead bios
- By Dan Fenyvesi on 03-09-22
By: Peter Richardson
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Fare Thee Well
- The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead's Long, Strange Trip
- By: Joel Selvin, Pamela Turley
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
The Grateful Dead rose to greatness under the inspired leadership of guitarist Jerry Garcia, but the band very nearly died along with him. When Garcia passed away suddenly in 1995, the remaining band members experienced full crises of confidence and identity. So long defined by Garcia's vision for the group, the surviving "Core Four", as they came to be called, were reduced to strained relationships, and catastrophic business decisions. It would take 20 years before relationships were mended enough for the Grateful Dead as fans remembered them to once again take the stage.
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A worthy, if imperfect, addition to the story
- By Rick on 06-21-18
By: Joel Selvin, and others
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Heads
- A Biography of Psychedelic America
- By: Jesse Jarnow
- Narrated by: Jesse Jarnow
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America uncovers a hidden history of the biggest psychedelic distribution and belief system the world has ever known. Through a collection of fast-paced interlocking narratives, it animates the tale of an alternate America and its wide-eyed citizens.
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Disappointed
- By Rick Greene on 05-09-22
By: Jesse Jarnow
amazing book on a amazing person.
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Beautiful
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Great book
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Excellent book
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So much of it comes off like bragging and over inflates his importance. For instance, have a look at Steve Jobs book and note Barlow doesn't get mentioned...
Most telling is the lack of interaction with Garcia and the Grateful Dead crew who did not suffer fools lightly! Heck they treated Weir like a kid brother so Barlow was little brothers buddy!
Sure he's an interesting character to be sure! Wrote a few good lyrics but few classics.
His little "adventure" with McIntyre (You Dead Heads should have a bit of back story to fill the blanks!) kinda set the tone for me.
Barlow, as I said up front is self righteous and is the epitome of relativistic America where one needs only to justify one's actions to get some sleep. He's not the train wreck so many of his generation were but not far from it!
Before you start dismissing me as a right winger conservative make a mental list of the casualties from the 60's and put the waste of Garcia on top! Finest musician of the century traded it for dragons breathe!
All that said it's a fun listen and remains in my library! I don't have to agree with the protagonist and can appreciate the wild ride of a story and the perspective it provides.
Ray Porter knocks it out of the park as usual!
Self Righteous Tool!
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What a life he had... great book
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Amazing!
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21st Century Renaissance Man
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Just A Great Story Of A Life Lived
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A great tale told well.
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