Why Write History for the Public?
Alumnus Dennis McNally, a best-selling author and publicist for the Grateful Dead, will present the annual Five College History Lecture, "Why Write History for the Public?"
McNally received his Ph.D. in history in 1977 for a biography of Jack Kerouac, which was published two years later by Random House under the title "Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America."
McNally was selected as the Grateful Dead's official biographer in 1980 and four years later became the band's publicist, a role he still fills. Between 1984 and 1995, he toured with the band and worked on its behalf at the United Nations, the White House and Congress.
In 2002, he published his history of the band, "A Long Strange Trip/The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead," which made the New Yorks Times best seller list.
