Author: Brian Doherty

ISBN 0316711543

The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews 

Burning Man is the arts/creativity/freedom/whatever festival held every
September in the Nevada desert.

It started in 1980s San Francisco, in part as a reaction to Ronald Reagan's
America. A man named Larry Harvey and some friends gathered on a San Francisco
nude beach to burn a wooden effigy of a man (for no especially good reason). The
event was "adopted" by various California punk and arts groups, like the L.A.
Cacophony Society, and soon grew too big for the nude beach. A home was found
deep in the Nevada desert, miles from the nearest civilization.

It is a huge, empty, desolate place, described by one person as living inside an
ashtray. The wind blows constantly, sometimes up to 100 miles an hour, and
within seconds, everything and everyone is coated with the same gray dust.
Permits are required from the Bureau of Land Management, the official owner of
the land, and from the local county governments, not always an easy process. As
the attendance at Burning Man has grown over the years, from a few hundred
people to, presently, 30,000 people, changes have been needed in the
organizational structure of the festival. An LLC was formed to take care of the
financial recordkeeping, which, for several years in the 1990s, was loose, to
say the least. An unofficial police force was formed, to peacefully resolve
disputes and to supplement the actual police force, there to keep things from
getting too out of hand. Actual zoning has taken place, including the laying out
of streets.

At Burning Man, self-reliance is expected by all participants, which includes
bringing your own water. Everyone is expected to participate in some sort of art
project; spectators are discouraged. "Art" does not mean a painting that is hung
on a wall, but some sort of large, interactive creation that people can touch
and feel, usually involving fire.

For those with any sort of familiarity about Burning Man, this book does a fine
job at getting behind the scenes. For those who have never heard of it, read
this story of a truly unique American arts festival. Either way, this is very
much recommended.