Barefoot in Babylon: Paperback Book

Name: Barefoot in Babylon: Paperback Book
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 74-0142180877
Price: 18.00 USD
Availability: InStock

The Creation of the Woodstock Music Festival, 1969

By Bob Spitz

Item: 74-0142180877

$18.00

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Celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2014, the Woodstock Music Festival defined a generation. Yet there was much more than peace and love driving that long weekend the summer of 1969. In Barefoot in Babylon, journalist and New York Times best-selling author Bob Spitz gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Woodstock, from its inception and the incredible musicians that performed to its scandals and the darker side of the peace movement. With a new introduction that reflects on Woodstock forty-five years down the road, Barefoot in Babylon is a must-read for anyone who was at the famous festival---or wishes they were.

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Publisher: Penguin

ISBN10: 0-14-218087-4

ISBN13: 978-0-14-218087-7

UPC: 9780142180877

SKU: 74-0142180877

More about this title

About the Author: Bob Spitz

Bob Spitz is a journalist and New York Times best-selling author whose work examines pivotal moments in American culture and music history. His investigative approach combines meticulous research with narrative drive, making complex historical events accessible to general and academic audiences alike.

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Why we love this

This book transforms Woodstock from mythology into documented history, revealing the logistics, personalities, and tensions behind one of music's defining events. For music educators and students studying rock history, cultural movements, or the 1960s, it provides primary-source context that deepens understanding of why the music mattered and what actually happened beyond the legend.

What to expect

Energetic, revealing, and occasionally unflinching. Spitz balances the euphoria and idealism of the festival weekend with the chaos, poor planning, and darker impulses that ran alongside the peace narrative. Reading it feels like eavesdropping on backstage conversations while also witnessing the broader machinery that made the event possible.

Who it's for

Music history students, music educators designing curricula around 1960s rock and counterculture, and anyone teaching units on concert production, festival logistics, or the social dimensions of popular music. It works equally well for high school history classes exploring music's role in social change and undergraduate music majors studying rock history.

How to use it

Pair this with recordings from the festival itself when teaching rock history or 1960s music units. Students can read chapters about specific artists or performances, then listen to those same sets with fuller context. It also enriches any discussion of music festivals, concert promotion, or how live rock music shaped cultural identity.

Skills your students will build

Understanding music history within broader social and political contexts
Recognizing the difference between cultural mythology and documented historical fact
Analyzing how live performance, artist personalities, and logistics intersect to create cultural moments
Engaging with primary-source style narratives about music industry practices