HOOboy. I knew Altamont was a dumpster fire, but I didn't know it was THAT much of one. Take the premise of 'Hey! Let's put on a show in the barn!' with all the good and positive (and blessedly naive) intentions that entails, and have absolutely EVERYTHING go catastrophically wrong. It's a lesson in what happens when one refuses to admit defeat and live another day, even when it's painfully obvious that defeat is the much better, safer and saner option.

Selvin holds back no punches. He doesn't try to find a single person at fault, when it's obvious that it belongs to nearly everyone involved; the blissful ignorance of the Stones, the shiftiness of the numerous questionable people behind the scenes, the lack of business sense of the speedway owner, the Grateful Dead for putting their faith in the half-baked and rushed idea, the drunken violence of the Hells Angels, and so on. So many decisions made (or shifted off to a flunky) that led to a disaster.

It's a hard read, but it sure as hell is a fascinating one.