The Grateful Dead played their first show in 1965, and the shelf of books about them has never stopped growing. This page gathers Grateful Dead books, biographies, and photography — official histories, band memoirs, oral chronicles, and the coffee-table editions that only get better with age.
Two titles anchor the collection right now. 60 Years of The Grateful Dead Experience is Relix’s own commemorative softcover marking six decades since the band formed, timed to the summer 2025 shows at Golden Gate Park where Dead & Company brought the whole story home. Bobby Weir (1947–2026) is Relix’s special-edition tribute to the band’s founding rhythm guitarist, who died in January 2026, not long after those anniversary shows — one half of the two voices, alongside Jerry Garcia, that carried the songs for thirty years. Both are also available together in the Grateful Dead Legacy Bundle for anyone who wants the pair.
Beyond those, the shelf runs deep: Phil Lesh’s own memoir Searching for the Sound, Dennis McNally’s band-authorized A Long Strange Trip, Blair Jackson’s oral history This Is All a Dream We Dreamed and his Grateful Dead Gear, Robert Greenfield’s Garcia biography Dark Star, and Bob Minkin’s photography books Just Bobby and Just Jerry. Deadheads chasing something sharper will find Deadology's 33 essential dates and the band’s own official Tarot Deck and Guidebook.
Why buy from Relix
Relix has covered the Grateful Dead since 1974, and the two anniversary titles above — the 60 Years retrospective and the Bobby Weir tribute — are Relix’s own commemorative editions. Everything else here is chosen the same way the magazine always has: books that hold up, not just books that exist.
Keep exploring: Grateful Dead Vinyl Records and CDs & DVDs cover the music itself, Grateful Dead Photography gathers the images, Relix Magazine Back Issues holds fifty years of the reporting, and the main Grateful Dead hub ties every corner of the catalog together.