Booth begins his book by describing his experiences, as they are taking place, arriving with the Stones at the Altamont Speedway the night before the band is set to take the stage. This is the first of three such narratives, which begin each of the book’s three sections, and following it, the first chapter details Booth sitting around in a Los Angeles hotel room, a month before the fateful tour began, hanging out with the band, as Watts and the author discuss a recent review that is critical of the Stones. Booth vividly places us in the room, as the band members are casually introduced into the scene, one by one. Booth tells of this early meeting as he still is trying to get his book contract squared away, while the band is putting the finishing touches on its not-yet-released classic album, “Let It Bleed.” Later chapters go back and forth between moving the story through the beginning of the tour, scenes from the road, the secret recording of “Brown Sugar” at Muscle Shoals Studios, and the history of the band, starting with childhood descriptions of the members. In between, Booth takes us on a ride that has a lifetime’s worth of experiences with many memorable characters and situations--including his painful visits with the parents of the recently deceased Brian Jones, founding member of the band;
backstage scenes with political conspirator Abbie Hoffman, attempting to gain some endorsement, or at least some money, from Jagger; accounts of the infamous drug trials in Britain of Jagger, Richards, and Jones; an account of the growing
friendship between the author and country musician Gram Parsons; and a glimpse of Booth’s own story, as well.
 Indeed, for every episode of the Stones story, as well as that of the entire generation’s, Booth gives us a glimpse (and sometimes much more) of what he was doing and feeling in those years. Fortunately for the reader, Booth is a likable, insightful, sympathetic, and down to earth protagonist; had he been otherwise, the book might have been all but ruined. Yes, Booth does talk about his family life, his common law wife, friends and lovers, enemies and compatriots, and in the context of this book, it would be hard to imagine the story without all this information. Certainly, this book is a chronicle of a time period through the eyes and ears of one man, and to give everyone else’s thoughts and impressions without also lending his own would seem to leave a gaping hole. In the new afterword to the book, Booth gives a glimpse into the story of what happened to him in the years since he was on the road with the Stones, and of why it took 15 years to get the story into print. Between personal problems, difficulties with his publisher, and the missed opportunity of striking while the iron was hot (i.e., while the Stones were still at the acme of their game in the early seventies), the book did not appear until the
middle of the Reagan years, and it was not promoted as it should have been.
 Now, 31 years after the nightmare of Altamont (a night which, despite the threat of death at any moment, included a terrific performance by the Stones, according to Booth), The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones is back in print, and will hopefully reach many more readers than it has previously been able to. To be certain, it cannot be overstated that this is not merely a book for die-hard Stones fans, although they will definitely enjoy it; this is not simply a historical account of one man’s perspective of some well known events, although people who like their historical accounts will not want to miss it; this is not just a book that is full of stories and episodes that would make even the most creative novelist proud to come up with, although the book could easily sit alongside the best of Kerouac. Rather, The True Adventures of The Rolling Stones is an experience, an initiation, and an epic. For those who may have missed the bus the first time around, it has once again pulled into the station, and here now is a chance to participate in a truly worthwhile journey.
--Neal Alpert