Woodstock: 50th Anniversary Edition

A special 50th anniversary edition of our lavishly illustrated ultimate guide to Woodstock, with a day-by-day, act-by-act account of everything that went down on Yasgur’s farm—along with interviews and quotes from those who were there.

Fifty years ago, in August 1969, drenched by torrential rain and ankle-deep in mud, half a million-people gathered in a field on a dairy farm in upstate New York to participate in what has since been recognized as the most significant and inspiring musical event of its kind: a landmark that defined a generation. Woodstock was the ultimate expression of the hippie ethos and youth-led counterculture. It was also, in retrospect, its glorious, anarchic swan song.

Woodstock made headline news across the world: the success of the subsequent movie perpetuated the mythology, and this new edition considers the legacy from the perspective of five decades later, providing a summary of where the surviving performers are now.

New and contemporary interviews and quotes from those who were there—the musicians and managers, fans and photographers, organizers and technicians—provide a unique commentary throughout the book. Packed with anecdotes and backstage gossip (Joan Baez sent a cup of tea to calm a nervous Melanie, and Janis Joplin finished all the bagels), as well as a wealth of photographs and graphic memorabilia — many never before published — Woodstock is the definitive guide to the “Three Days of Peace & Music.”