I absolutely loved every page of Deal. Billy is a fantastic storyteller, and I never felt bored with any of his stories. I never felt like he was rambling too much. I couldn't have asked for a better memoir from him. I read Phil Lesh's [b:Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead|279410|Searching for the Sound My Life with the Grateful Dead|Phil Lesh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440741815s/279410.jpg|271018] a couple years ago, thoroughly enjoying it - but unexpectedly, I enjoyed Deal even more. ( )

Followed this book immediately with Phil Lesh's "Searching for the Sound". This made a very interesting comparison of events and views by the two band members. Though they both had their fair share of mischief, it seems Billy was by far the more troublemaker of the two. Kreutzmann also seems to relish in his tales, even the ones where you'd second guess his activities and decisions. It also interesting to see how two band members can be playing at the same event and have such marked differences of the event, in particular what was a great show or 'leave-it' show. Kreutzmann likes to kiss and tell where Lesh leaves very little of his escapades. One thing that comes clear out of both books is the strong bind that Garcia was. Both Kreutzmann and Lesh go to great details on their relationship with Jerry and how close they were while neither provides much information with regards to their relationship with other band members with one exception - Lesh does talk about close ties to Pigpen. Point being though is that Jerry was the glue and leader that they all looked to for guidance, decisions and keeping things together - though neither admits it. ( )