"Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" - that was the rallying cry for a movement that changed American culture forever. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the West Coast was the epicenter of rock music. From this untamed tumult, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and many others rocketed to national fame. But the media's version of the "summer of love" era only scratched the surface of the true story - which has never been told until now.

Joel Selvin, who has been the pop music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle since those heady days, has woven a fascinating and sometimes lurid narrative history of the highest times of the rock era, separating surprising fact from entrenched mythology. Drawing on interviews with all the major players, including Jerry Garcia, Grace Slick, Steve Miller, and David Crosby, this compelling and comprehensive book pieces together the musical highs and lows the bands shared.

From the little-known gun-toting Charlatans who started it all, to the later, chart-busting, raw soul sound of Santana, it takes you far off the beaten path and backstage at the Fillmore Auditorium, Monterey, Woodstock, and Altamont. Filled with tales of bacchanalia, acid-laced jam sessions, crimes of passion, tragic ODs, and run-ins with ruthless promoters, record companies, and especially the law, Summer of Love brings new light to the icons of the most tumultuous and rebellious era in American music.