This book of 20 original, scholarly essays and seven reflective writings offers a spirited analysis of the unique improvisational character of Grateful Dead music and its impact on appreciative fans. The essays capture distinct facets of the Grateful Dead phenomenon from a broad range of scholarly angles: musicology and ethnomusicology; Continental and postmodern philosophies; sociology; socio-political and cultural anthropology; communication theory and online communities; and, organizational practices in business. The band's trademark synergizing focus is discussed as a function of complex musical improvisation interlaced with the band members' collective assimilation of an impressive range of marginal musical forms and lyrical traditions. These facets are shown to produce a vibrant Deadhead experience, resulting in community influences still morphing in new directions 45 years after the band's initial impact.