Stung by accusations of profiteering during their 1969 United States tour, the Rolling Stones announced plans for a free concert in San Francisco at its conclusion. It would be a thank you to their adoring public, and a means to assuage their guilt. Unfortunately, the December 6 concert at Altamont Speedway near Livermore, California, ended in chaos and death. By day's end there would be four dead, four born, and 300,000 bummed-out. Although inadequate preparation was at fault, the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club, contracted as a security force for 500 dollars worth of beer, rightfully received the lion's share of the blame—there was a film crew at hand to document their abuses from beginning to end. Over time, Altamont has achieved a kind of mythic significance. It epitomized the potential for violence in the counterculture … the ugliness lurking behind the bangles and beads. Altamont hailed both the real and metaphorical end...