The Harvard Psychedelic Club (forthcoming book)
RMJon23
Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for
America.(Brief article)(Book review).
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Publishers Weekly 256.45 (Nov 9, 2009): p42(1). (200 words)
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The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston
Smith, and Andrew Well Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for
America Don Lattin. Harper One, $24.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06-165593-7
It's hard for folks who didn't live through the 1960s to imagine what
it was like to live in a drug- and sex-soaked culture, one where
traditional values were drowned in a rush of hedonism and hippiedom.
Names like Timothy Leary and Ram Dass bring back all the memories and
all the conflicts. In this beautifully constructed study, Lattin
(Jesus Freaks) brings together four of the most memorable figures from
that period. Each comes across as a flawed genius and irrepressible
fanatic. The author says of Leary that he "activate[d] conservative
anxiety in America," but this could easily describe any of the players
in this grim and gritty story. Laying out their stories side by side
in roughly chronological form, the author traces the lives of each of
the players, exposing a kind of dysfunctional relationship among them
that is not part of our corporate memory. This is a fast-moving,
dispassionate recounting of a seminal period in our history, and all
in all, a wonderful book. (Jan.)