Hippie (Hardcover)

From Publishers Weekly
Biographer of Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and the Beat Movement itself, Miles broadens his scope to the years 1965 through 1971, a time that "really was about sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll." This massive catalog tries to cram it all in, with quotes from groovy personalities (Timothy Leary, John Lennon, Ken Kesey, Wavy Gravy, Abbie Hoffman, Grace Slick, Frank Zappa), posters and album sleeves (Buffalo Springfield, the Doors, Big Brother and the Holding Company), period photographs (antiwar protests, love-ins, mobile communes, Haight-Ashbury), and stray ephemera (a napkin from the Whiskey A Go Go). Musicians take precedence over artists: readers looking for Peter Max or R. Crumb won’t even find them in the index. Despite the tremendous assemblage, the volume lacks a coherent organization. The table of contents, divided by years, has no page numbers. A section on the Watts Riots is sandwiched between the Byrds and Leary. More an affectionate scrapbook of the psychedelic moment than a trenchant history of the countercultural movement, this collection will appeal primarily to memorabilia enthusiasts. Over 600 full-color and b/w illustrations.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The watershed 1960s can be gloriously re-experienced in the pages of this magnificent, oversize volume. The swinging '60s will live forever for the boomers who came of age in that decade; for their parents, who, at the time, felt uncomfortable with the abrupt shifts they observed in values and attitudes (to say nothing of dress); and now for their children, who listen to the rock music of that era and wonder, Was it really all that cool? Miles uses the hippie as a metaphor for the whole cultural experience of the 1960s and its impact on American--no, world--political and social life. As is so graphically documented here, the hippie was the epitome of the youth culture and very much defined the times. This was the great era of protest; hippies stood outside society, and, from that vantage point, they offered both valid and off-the-wall criticism. This luscious book, its textual accompaniment as spirited as its bounty of dynamic illustrations (including candid photos, album covers, and publicity shots), establishes the wide social boundaries of the movement--from antiwar activities to fashion and music and cinema--and spotlights the individuals most important to the counterculture, from Bob Dylan to Jim Morrison, from Ken Kesey to Abbie Hoffman. And, of course, the new-arrivals-display potential of this book in the public library is rich and varied. Wayne Koestenbaum's biography Andy Warhol (2001) could be set beside it as collateral reading, as could Bruce Spizer's The Beatles Are Coming! (2004) and the Autobiography of Martin Luther King (1998), a collection of King's writings. Also, don't forget to use books and even actual artifacts pertaining to gay liberation, fashions of the time, cinema, and all other aspects of distinctive '60s culture. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
“To turn the shiny pages of ‘Hippie’ is to breathe deeply. Here they all are: Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Brian Jones...Bob Dylan and Timothy Leary.”—The New York Times. “An exuberant collection of photos and essays about the music, politics and fashion that rocked the world-priced for the bohemian budget.”—Time Out New York. “Capture[s] the drama of the counterculture era.”—AARP.

Hippie is a glossy coffee table book covering the rise and demise of the counterculture during the years from 1965 to 1971. For those who lived through the era, the full-page photos are bound to get some synapses firing (presumably bypassing all those drug-damaged neural junctions). This is essentially a People magazine version of the sixties: lots of breathless headlines and celebrity photos. Writer Barry Miles has dug up some good music gossip, including not very flattering John Lennon anecdotes.

Some serious issues of the era get raised - Vietnam, civil rights, woman's liberation, gay rights - but in a, well, glossy coffee-table-book way. The editorial difficulty in putting together a book of this sort is deciding whether you're celebrating sex, drugs and rock and roll or chronicling a culture in crisis.

The young people in America rose up in mass revulsion against Jell-O molds and tract homes with bomb shelters in the back yard. They hit the road looking for something more optimistic and more fun. Enormous energy went in to trying to alter or bring down the dominant culture. In the civil rights and antiwar movements, people were literally putting their lives on the line. People's "lifestyle choices," as we now call them, had profound repercussions, personally and politically, in ways unimaginable to young people today (soldiers in Iraq excepted). Similar upheavals were happening in Europe, especially France, where the student - worker alliance only dreamed of in the US actually came to pass in the heady spring of 68.

You can get a good debate going by asking which specific event signified the end of the sixties in America. Was it Kent State, where the Ohio National Guard gunned down four student protesters? Altamont, where the peace and love culture broke down on its own without any outside interference? The breakup of the Beatles? Or, even earlier, Nixon's election in 68, which demonstrated the difficulty of changing hearts and minds in America? Barry Miles covers them all here, so you can make up your own mind.

But America has a genius for absorbing new ideas into its vast, spongy middle. Hippie notions of casual sex, recreational drug use, and quirky personal style seeped into suburban living rooms, stripped of any cultural or political critique. In the 1970s, the revolution was not only televised, but merchandised, and the momentum had for sure crested and started to recede. On the plus side, protests at the Miss America pageant led by a tortuous route to housewives in Sioux Falls filling cubicles at insurance and credit card companies. African Americans got access to academia and began moving up the economic ladder. George W. Bush notwithstanding, we work harder to prevent industries from poisoning our air and water.

But there was a time, my children, when hope hung in the air, and personal liberation was a radiant promise. All you had to do was stare out at the future with the right kind of eyes. Clearly the old structures would topple, and gleaming new edifices of our own making would rise to replace them. The apocalyptic change didn't happen, but whether you were partying or protesting, it was a grand time to be alive. Hippie, for all its slickness, is a great memory jogger for those who participated and not a bad introduction for those who missed out on the Age of Aquarius.

Review: Bargain price, excellent pics, ambitious text
Having had my 6th birthday the month Sgt. Pepper appeared, my memories of the hippie era are tied up with childhood. I don't idealize or denigrate the hippie era, and I was curious, after reading TC Boyle's commune novel Drop City, to discover more about what now's forty and not "twenty years ago" today, or close to it now. Miles takes a rather bi-locational look at the era 65-71 or so mostly switching between London and California. Politics are downplayed and music is highlighted, along with drugs, as the forces inspiring fashion, mores, ecology, and sexuality to change. The text may not get the attention that the photos do, but Miles tries hard to hit all of the high points within the parameters described above. A few typos (Mondo Carne, Tasahara, Berry Melton) escape the editor's eye, but I admit that he crams a lot of material into short, easily accessible mini-essays.

One on People's Park, Berkeley effectively distills the whole conflict into a few well-written paragraphs. He gives a quick rundown on the French '68 risings, and notes how--given the lack of translations of Tim Leary, for example, the French took their radicalism more from rock n' roll from abroad to mix with Gallic activism and literary bohemianism. Miles stresses how remote the Beatles had become by the later 60s, influencing from a height what others scurried about to copy and further commodify.

In one essay on the drug culture in SF, early '67, he captures the aftermath of the idealistic Human Be-In in January, in that night's police crackdown on "soft" drugs like pot and LSD and how as if overnight, they and their purveyors were replaced on the streets along with new dealers, of speed and heroin. Miles hints strongly that there was a concerted effort from authorities to undermine SF culture that escalated into the decline of the movement just as it looked at its most utopian, while even by the Summer of Love, the decline has become irreversible.

Other essays, like that on the Weathermen, seem diffused, and confused--the Manson murders are celebrated by Bernadette Dohrn before the murders themselves are examined a few pages later; the SDS receives nearly no attention prior to the Chicago trial; the end years peter out into a dribble of unrelated vignettes before stumbling to a halt with Woodstock '99. One problem: many shorter entries read as if made to fit the page and the graphics, and they suddenly stop at the bottom while leaving you as the reader expecting more coverage on the non-existent next page's continuation. This staccato pace throws off the flow.

Miles wisely stays out of the way himself in nearly all of his narrative, allowing others to be quoted at length. You do learn about personalities like Vito and Szou in '65 on the Sunset Strip, the conflict between the Family Dog and Bill Graham approaches to doing business with/as the counterculture, and the Diggers vs. HIP Haight-Ashbury merchants ideological differences. Valerie Solanas' SCUM manifesto gains citations at length, as does a key ad by Frank Zappa warning the hippies about their smug conformity. What it felt like to have Neal Cassady driving the bus, play at London's Roundhouse, be at Woodstock, or watch a light show in SF all gain credence through carefully chosen details and quotes. Alice Cooper and Led Zep are astutely credited with ushering in the death of the love generation (named by SF police chief Thomas Cahill that night after the Be-In!) and the era of the no-message, good-time arena rock that followed the earnest 60s.

I do wish a glance at the hippie influence abroad--Brazil, Israel, Nepal, Japan, Mexico City--could have been included; the lack of international attention as well as how hippies filtered into suburban life would've been salutory. However, given the "heavy" heft of this large-format work, Miles and his photo compilers have pulled off a handsome and very inexpensively priced presentation. In summary, if you wish to see the rise and fall of the hippie ideals more from an Anglo-American rather than a global perspective, this book offers a glossy and engrossing, if not comprehensive, look at the London-California axis.

Review: A History of San Francisco Music Scene
This is an interesting book with excellent photographs. The biggest problem is that it is really a history (almost too detailed of a history) of the San Francisco music scene. It is really not about "hippies". The author makes a few 1 or 2 page detours here and there to London or NYC but otherwise, the book is focused squarely on San Francisco/Haight Ashbury Music scene. But certainly, the writing is good, the story interesting, and I learned many things.

Review: If you remember the sixties you weren't there
Where this maxim came from I don't know, however, after reading this book I for sure believe it. Born a year before WWII ended, getting married during the summer of love 1968 in California, having a pg wife when Woodstock went down I kind of only and sadly vicariously experienced the era wistfully, fearfully, and most of all joyfully.
This work views the time primarily from a musically evolutional perspective. This worked for me since I knew the songs but with the exception of the supergroups; Stones, Doors and of course Beatles, I had no clue who was from beyond the pond or who was from the valley.

What this work accomplishes for me is to set forth a visual feast with the photographs presented and a text that brings it together and particularly sets in it a context that brings back so many memories, thoughts, ideals, and days past.
As Wordsworth said, "Though nothing can bring back the hour of spendor in the grass, of the glory of the flower" this book does a great job of trying.

Review: At last, the truth in living color.
I picked this book up in B & N and almost bought it, since I've been studying the violence and activism of the 60s. After pursuing it for a few minutes, however, I immediately put it down. Let's put it this way: 1 column on the Watts riots, 2 pages on the band Cream. The value of this book is that it tells the unambiguous truth: hippies were 9 1/2 parts fashion statement, 1/2 part politics. Don't let the self-congratulatory "I was there for the civil rights movement" boomers fool ya. This book tells the truth about the trendiness that was most of hippiedom. For that reason, it's almost useless as anything but a feel good retrospective . . . and didn't we get enough of that in the 90s?

While the pictures are nice, conspicuously, the big polluted mess left over on the Woodstock grounds is left out. Anybody interested in the period and what some, less fashion-obsessed hippies were doing should pick up Daniel Walker's Rights in Conflict used for $1. It's amusing to look at the pictures of the people cops were calling hippies in Chicago, 1968. They don't look anything like the boutique hippy kids in this picture book. When someone does a book in a similar layout called Yippie, I'll consider dropping the cash.

Review: go back to a very special time
I was a teenager in the late 60's and I still have a very special love for that time. This book is amazing in that it really transports you back to that time period, visually more than anything else. It isn't a replica of the 60's - it IS the 60's. For people who were there and have a special fondness for it, this will bring back your memories. For those who weren't there but wonder what it was like, this will take you there. Its a beautiful book at an incredible price. Don't wait for it to come out in paperback!

The Hippie Handbook [BARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)

Book Description
Brothers and sisters! Here at last is a light-hearted, free-spirited, groovy guide to the timeless hippie skills and activities that make the world a better place, one macrame belt at a time. In illustrated, easy-to-follow instructions, author Chelsea Cain -- who grew up on an Iowa hippie commune -- provides practical and playful know-how for the hippie and hippie-at-heart. Learn how to milk a goat, build a compost pile, play "Kumbaya" on the guitar, teach a dog how to catch a Frisbee, and get your file from the FBI. Discover the finer points of caring for a fern, choosing a mantra, organizing a protest, naming your hippie baby, and making sand candles as holiday gifts. Including primers on cooking, dressing, driving, telling time, dancing, and celebrating your birthday in classic hippie style, and a righteous appendix of essential hippie books, movies, and slang, The Hippie Handbook knows the score. Right on.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author
Chelsea Cain really has milked a goat and made tempeh in her bathtub. Author of the memoir Dharma Girl, she lives the carefree life in Portland, Oregon. Lia Miternique is a far-out illustrator and graphic designer who lives in Portland, Oregon.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review: Groovy
Once you get past the sterotypical idea of the book. It is actually a pretty good book. The craft ideas and simple history it has to offer is worth the price. For a person who lives the counter culture movement, It is a wonderful addition to my library.

Review: So Far-out!!!
This book is awesome! I learned a lot of my hippie skills from this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone even the slightest bit interested in the hippies. This book teaches you about everything from how to name your hippie baby to ambling to protests. You MUST purchase this book! You won't regret it.

Review: This book is totally groovy
This book, like, totally rocks my world. I learned all my valuable skills from this book. Stick it to Babylon! Impeach Nixon! Ban the Bra! Hippies ROCK!

Memoirs of an Ex-Hippie: Seven Years in the Counterculture (Paperback)
Book Description
The counterculture of the 60s and 70s has been viewed as everything from naive to hedonistic. However, most of these views were formed by observing the movement from the outside. "Memoirs of an Ex-Hippie" offers a vastly different perspective, one developed from within.

After graduating college in 1968, Robert Roskind hit the road for seven years. Roskind's travels lead him into the heart of the counterculture--to Esalen Institute, Tassajara Hot Springs, Big Sur, Vancouver Island, the communes of Oregon and North Carolina, Altamont Pop Festival, Mt. Shasta, the Haight-Ashbury and the "motherland"--Northern California.

His personal odyssey, sometimes profane and funny, sometimes profound and serious, reveals this tumultuous era as a cultural and spiritual renaissance that birthed many of the solutions to problems humanity now faces.

About the Author
Robert Roskind is a writer and speaker. His ten books include "Rasta Heart: A Journey into One Love," "In the Spirit of Business," and "In the Spirit of Marriage," all traching unconditional love. He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolna with his wife, Julia, and their daughter, Alicia.

Review: What a trip...
Reviewer: Silence DoGood - See all my reviews
This book is one of thoes that you can't put down, and end up reading over and over again. It takes you on a journey through life in the counterculture, begining with the Author's initiation via LSD. A truly remarkable book, very well written, I highly recommend it.

Review: Where was the Editor?
If one can look past the repeated grammatical errors, this book is a joy for any of us who were shaped by the events of the 60's and 70's. Roskind does a credible job of taking the reader along for his memorable ride. Through the retelling of his personal experiences he helps the reader revisit the utopian dream many of us had for a better world. While his experiences may have been unique, his hopes and dreams for a new and improved society were commonly held. For many of us this book is a ride down memory lane. For those who weren't there personally it is an interesting read and one that provides credible insight into the issues and answers of the era.

As Skip Stone points out, Roskind is not truly an "ex-hippie." Rather, he is a hippie who has further evolved. Like many, Roskind was profoundly shaped by the counterculture. Though he may have returned to the mainstream, the magic of the hippie years appears to be a significant ongoing influence.

Regrettably, the poor editing tarnished this otherwise pleasant read. The inconsistencies in dates and sequences could, perhaps, be overlooked. However, didn't we all learn in junior high English class that when we refer to ourselves as the sentence subject we use I, but as an object we use me? Perhaps Roskind skipped school that day, but how can this obvious error be repeated dozens of times in a published book? Where was the editor? Four stars for content, but one subtracted for editing.

Review: A nostalgic stroll down Hippie Lane
Just as the Beats immortalized their lives and times in such books as On The Road, Robert Roskind likewise commemorates the liberated lifestyle of the hippie era. This look back, while very personal, is also the archetype for a whole generation whose quest for freedom and the meaning of life led to some mind-blowing experiences. Whether it was dealing with parents and the "generation gap", or trying to avoid getting sent to Vietnam or tripping out on LSD at Altamont, we hippies trod the same path, often in the same places. This implies our common experience was a result of an underlying phenomenon that ultimately changed ourselves, our society and the world.
Roskind's nostalgic trip down hippie lane is a travelogue of life's alternative byways and an exploration of the communal mindset of the period. His honest recollections about his psychedelic drug use, run-ins with the cops, communal life, free love, and self-discovery were all part of the hippie trip. Roskind's tales of many cross-country journeys, picking up hitchhikers in his converted bus, leave us longing for those simpler times, when total strangers would become friends faster than you could light a joint. Those days are over now, but still very much alive for those who lived them.

While many original hippies "sold out" long ago and joined the "establishment", some of us have held true to our beliefs and continue to explore alternative lifestyles and businesses. Roskind likewise shows us his crisis of faith and how he resolved to live a life of service to others and carry on the hippie philosophy in practice. Having realized that Love is the answer to many of life's questions, he now teaches others the transcendental power of unconditional love through his books and lectures.

The only flaw I find in the book is its title. Roskind is no Ex-hippie. The hippie inside still lives on and his love for the hippie way and how it changed his life comes thru loud and clear in this well written autobiography. Memoirs of an Ex-Hippie is liberating reading, and will take the reader on the same voyage we all experienced back in the 60s, without drugs!

Your Brain Is God (Paperback)

Book Description
This collection of essays, written by the poster boy of 1960s counterculture, describes the psychological journey Timothy Leary made in the years following his dismissal from Harvard, as his psychedelic research moved from the scientific to the religious arena. He discusses the nature of religious experience and eight crafts of God, including God as hedonic artist. Leary also examines the Tibetan, Buddhist, and Taoist experiences. In the final chapters, he explores man as god and LSD as sacrament.

Review: Are you a god?
That is the question this book wants you to ask yourself. From a fundamental standpoint religions which aim at self improvement are the best in my opinion. This book is not really about religion though. Leary writes about his early exploration into psychedelics and the proper preperation for a session. He also breaks things down to their simplest level and discusses how we can lose ego and rebuild our thoughts.
Some of the questions he poses made me think, and some made me feel like the world made sense. I am not big into the psychodelic drug scene, I am sure if I were I would rate this at 5 stars though.

Review: Philosophy through confrontation with oneself
As substance induced psychedelia became almost a sweeping religion in the 60s certain great minds emerged that tried to conceptualise the goings on of that era and form them into new philosophies made of an amalgam of Eastern teachings, ancient western cosmotheories and modern realisations.

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