Books about Phish

Here is brief information regarding every book about the band, their music, and/or their fans of which we're aware. There are at least 31, so far, in reverse chronological order, and the titles of those we recommend are in bold.

Sharing in the Groove: The Untold Story of the '90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene That Followed

Mike Ayers (St. Martin's Press, 7/22/25)

Notes: A brand new book that we'll be reading and summarizing (here and in a blog post) asap!

P is for Phan: An ABC Book for Noobs

Jamie Cavallaro (self-published, 7/31/24)

Notes: -

100 Things Phish Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (2024 ed.)

Andy P. Smith & Jason Gershuny; foreword Mike Greenhaus (Triumph Books, 7/30/24)

Notes: Updated and expanded edition.

This Is Your Song Too: Phish and Contemporary Jewish Identity

Oren Kroll-Zeldin & Ariella Werden-Greenfield, editors (Penn State University Press, 9/5/23)

Notes: "An exploration of Jewishness among the fan base of the band Phish, and how spirituality, ritual, and identity function in the world of rock and roll."

Phish Trivia

Henry Klaus, Jr. (self-published, 12/28/21)

Notes: A super-sus money grab, released in three versions on the same day, differing in cover and subtitle (such as "A Lot Of Captivating Information Revolves Around The Band For You To Enjoy And Get Lost In Hours" and "Plenty Of Fascinating Things For Fans Of Phish To Explore And Have More Fun" - who are they trying to kid, your mom?) Likely about the same quality, accurateness, and entertainment value as the several other trivia books listed here, which is to say: If you're short on toilet paper...

The Totally Awesome Phish Trivia Book: Uncover The History & Facts Every Phish Head Should Know!

Dale Raynes (Bridge Press, 4/3/21)

Notes: A trivia book about the band could be fun. But when the author repeatedly misspells the name of the bassist (Mike Gordon, the easiest to spell of the four names), it's difficult to take any of the rest seriously. The author has churned out more than a dozen "trivia" books that are less informative (not to mention less accurate) than a Wikipedia page.

100 Things Phish Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (2018 ed.)

Andy P. Smith & Jason Gershuny; foreword Mike Greenhaus (Triumph Books, 6/1/18)

Notes: Ranked primer of history, trivia, and must-do fan adventures.

The Phish Companion, Third Edition

The Mockingbird Foundation; eds. Marco Walsh, Phillip Zerbo (self-published by the Mockingbird Foundation, 6/22/16)

Notes: Full-color, 898-page, hardbound revision, a complete overhaul of the nonprofit gold standard, built around 8 segments of Phish history, each color coded by a commisioned print illustrating that era. Such extensive revisions of song histories that Phish.net was rebuilt to match its content, its colors, and even its font.

Phish's A Live One (33 1/3 series)

Walter "Waxbanks" Holland (Bloomsbury Academic, 10/22/15)

Notes: Deep read of the 1995 live album within a jamband context.

The Ashakiran Tape (Head Cases, Vol. 1)

Jurgen Fauth (Self-published / CreateSpace, 9/14/15)

Notes: A mystery novel set in the Phish fan scene.

This Has All Been Wonderful

David "ZZYZX" Steinberg (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 4/18/14)

Notes: The guy behind PhishStats (aka The Timer) shares life on the road (and at the shows) during a seminal early-ish year, focused on his Summer '94 tour experiences.

You Don't Know Me but You Don't Like Me: Phish, Insane Clown Posse, and My Misadventures with Two of Music's Most Maligned Tribes

Nathan Rabin (Scribner, 6/11/13)

Notes: A surprisingly good read. There's more about the separate communities than about connections, but the comparisons are stronger than you might expect, and fans of each scene might benefit from knowing something about the other - particularly about how a scene can get dark, or find light.

A Tiny Space to Move and Breathe: Notes from the Fall, 1997

Walter "Waxbanks" Holland (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 10/29/12)

Notes: A collection of autobiographical and philosopical essays reviewing and celebrating the Fall 1997 tour, by one of the most astute contributors to Phish.net reviews and forum.

Mr. Miner's Phish Thoughts: An Anthology

David "Mr. Miner" Calarco (Self-published, 1/1/11)

Notes: Curated essays chronicling the 2009 comeback year, with large-format photos befitting a coffeetable presentation.

PhanFood: From the Kitchen Pot to the Tour Lot

Taraleigh Weathers & Pete Mason, editors (State University of New York Press, 1/1/11)

Notes: A cookbook by and for Phish fans, featuring recipes for appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, entrees, desserts, drinks (with and without alcohol), and more, to be enjoyed in the lots, at the site, or just sitting at home waiting for the next tour to be announced. All net profits are donated to regional food banks and charities in the cities where Phish performs.

Phish: The Biography

Parke Puterbaugh (Da Capo Press / Hachette, 1/1/09)

Notes: A definitive narrative biography.

PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish

Pete Mason, ed. (BookBaby, 1/1/09)

Notes: A compendium of fan art by phans - posters, stickers, t-shirts, and ephemera - curated by the leading organizer and exhibitor of Phish fan art events.

The Phish Companion, 2nd Edition

The Mockingbird Foundation; foreword by Tom Marshall (Backbeat Books, 6/1/04)

Notes: Expanded and updated 898-page reference, built from Phish.net data by a fan-run charity nonprofit, with new features including an extensive glossary.

Run Like an Antelope: On the Road with Phish

Sean Gibbon (St. Martin's Griffin, 2/14/01)

Notes: Poorly written drivel purportedly about Phish tour culture during summer 2000, but mostly self-referential whining about having to write a book you do not need to bother reading.

The Phish Companion: A Guide to the Band and its Music

The Mockingbird Foundation; ed. Ellis Godard (Backbeat/Miller Freeman, 11/30/00)

Notes: A 900-page, fan-built encyclopedia, benefitting music education though feels like an old-school phone book or book of baseball stats.

The Pharmer's Almanac: The Unofficial Guide to Phish, Vol. 6

Kevin Cassels & Richard Northrop (self-published, 10/1/00)

Notes: At 500 pages, with important updates, this is an important improvement over early editions but was still sullied a bit by ethical questions about earlier volumes (see below). Billed by its authors as "toilet reading for Phish fans" and called "ice cream for the ears" by Burgess in the Doniac Schvice.

The Phish Book

Richard Gehr & Phish (Villard (Random House), 10/20/98)

Notes: Authorized book on Phish, featuring interviews and extensive official photos to provide a year-in-the-life tome following the band from 12/31/96 to 12/31/97, with hundreds of snippets of interviews with band members by Gehr, who has written insightfully and thoughtfully about Phish in the Village Voice, Spin, and elsewhere.

Jam Bands: North America’s Hottest Live Groups

Dean Budnick (ECW Press, 9/1/98)

Notes: The first comprehensive guide to an emerging phenemonon, a new genre (or at least musical space) in American music, including coverage of more than 175 musical acts, with photos, biographies, discographies, personal insights from band members, and more.

The Pharmer's Almanac: The Unofficial Guide to Phish, Vol. 5

Andy Bernstein (Berkley Trade, 9/1/98)

Notes: A much-improved revision with marginally fewer drug references, less frequenc toilet humor, and improved supplemental content. 324 pages.

The Pharmer's Almanac: The Unofficial Guide to Phish, Vol. 4

Lockhart Steele, Larry Chasnoff, Brian Smith, and Chris DiLeo (Melting Media, 1/1/98)

Notes: Improvements in content, style, and format, and expanded content providing history and humor. 276 pages.

Go Phish

Dave Thompson (St. Martin's Griffin, 8/15/97)

Notes: Early overview of the scene by rock journalist, largely deemed a nonsensical farce written by someone who apparently knew nothing about the band. Lead reviews called it "literally inaccurate from the first page" and have said to "file this entire book under FICTION." One review found it "even less original than its title, and equally boring."