The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert Is Shaping the New American Counterculture

Steven T. Jones

Jan 2011 · CCC Publishing

About this ebook

Burning Man is the premier countercultural event of modern times, growing over 25 years from a strange San Francisco beach party into an experimental city of 50,000 colorful souls in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, which burns brightly for a week before dissolving into dusty memories and changed lives. 

Longtime newspaper journalist Steven T. Jones embedded himself in this blossoming culture starting in 2004, a dispiriting year for American politics but the beginning of Burning Man’s renaissance, when it exploded outward in unexpected ways. The result is the most in-depth book ever written on this intriguing social phenomenon – The Tribes of Burning Man: How An Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture – which is being released in January, 2011 by CCC Publishing.

From covering the Borg2 artists’ rebellion to learning how to make large-scale fire sculptures with the Flaming Lotus Girls, from helping Opulent Temple showcase the world’s best DJs to cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina with Burners Without Borders, from regularly interviewing event founder Larry Harvey to covering Barack Obama’s nominating convention speech, Jones gives readers an inside, meticulously reported look at a time when Burning Man hit its zenith just as the country hit its nadir. 

Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world have made the dusty pilgrimage to Black Rock City to take part in this experiment in participatory art, commerce-free culture, and bacchanalian celebration—and many say their lives were fundamentally changed by this truly unique experience. 

Ratings and reviews

Follow Burning Man's meteoric rise from a frontier village camp-out to the third largest city in the state of Nevada during the Labor Day weekend. Steven T. Jones had unprecedented access to the founder, the board of directors, and a myriad of artist groups who collectively make Burning Man the most anticipated annual event in the United States during the last decade which he chronicled while writing this book. He delivers a definitive look at what makes this dynamic event tick, not just durning the week of the event, but all year round. Includes dozens of amazing photos too!

About the author

Described as a chronicle of "how Burning Man is transforming American society," Steven T. Jones' "Tribes" includes full reprints of his immersive series of reportage for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, which covered the activities of several core Burning Man "tribes," from the Flaming Lotus Girls to Burners Without Borders...in the book, Jones takes up his pen to round out the story of the community connections between some of the sound art camps, creative communities, cultural criticisms (BORG2, anyone?), and philosophical highlights of Burning Man's history.