The Last Great Dream

PRE-ORDER BY MAY 13, 2025

The Last Great Dream by Dennis McNally

A Definitive Social History of the 1960s Counterculture by the NYT Bestselling Author of A Long Strange Trip
From Beat poets to hippies, this is the untold story of the revolution before the revolution.

In The Last Great Dream, Dennis McNally—cultural historian and longtime Grateful Dead publicist—delivers a vivid, panoramic account of the social, artistic, and political forces that shaped the 1960s counterculture movement, long before the Summer of Love.

This compelling narrative traces the roots of the Haight-Ashbury scene back to the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance, exploring how artists, radicals, poets, and spiritual seekers created the conditions for a cultural eruption that would challenge everything America thought it knew about itself.

🎸 Explore the movements that birthed modern counterculture:

• Beat poetry and the rise of the San Francisco literary underground

• Psychedelics and the spiritual revolution

• Experimental art, music, and theater

• Anti-war activism, feminism, and communal living

• Iconic moments like the Human Be-In and Monterey Pop Festival

📚 Perfect for fans of American cultural history, the Beat Generation, and the psychedelic 1960s
📚 **Ideal for readers of Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, On the Road, and Howl
📚 Essential reading for music historians, artists, activists, and cultural studies students

Format: Hardcover 
Genre: Nonfiction, American History, Cultural Studies
Topics: 1960s Counterculture, San Francisco, Hippie Movement, Beat Poets, Psychedelia
Audience: Readers interested in social change, underground movements, and the origins of modern rebellion

✨ The Last Great Dream is the ultimate chronicle of the prelude to the 1960s revolution—a beautifully written deep dive into the art, ideas, and individuals who transformed American culture from the underground up.