Subcultures Books

This is a good read but like all books about the hippies and the sixties it completely misses the true genesis of the counterculture: technology. Marshall McCluhan wrote about the technological extensions of humans. The sixty's revealed the first generation which had grown up on television and other new electronic extensions were in fact rebelling against their electronic master. The slavery was in the mind. Everyone over thirty trusted the new direction the culture was headed in and by the seventy's the revolution/rebellion was over. Now hear in 2008 we have put on our ear plugs, eye shades, and as Pete sang, "You know where to put the cork." We took it.

This was required reading for a graduate course in American history.

The 1960's was a time of radical change in American history. Timothy Miller's The Hippies and American Values looks into the controversial subject of the effect the hippies had on American society and its values. Since post World War II American society had seen so many changes in just a few decades. "Hippiedom" was another new change the nation had to deal with in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

The "Hippiedom" movement in the 1960's became known as the counterculture. This movement was composed of teenagers and persons in their early twenties who chose to separate themselves from the traditional American lifestyle. Hippies were usually young, white and came from the upper middle class. The hippie culture's basic beliefs were in peace, racial harmony, and equality. Their culture condoned smoking marijuana, engaging in liberated sex, and living communally they felt that as long as no one was hurting anyone else or themselves it was okay.

The main characteristic of the hippies was dope, and the majority of the hippies used it. Dope was one of the main elements that separated the counterculture from the mainstream. Hippies looked upon dope as good, and approved the use of any drug that was perceived as being able to expand consciousness. Drugs that made people "dumb" were bad (25). The main elements of hip ethics of dope looked something like this:

Use it positively. Use it sanely. Know what you're doing. Avoid bad drugs. Avoid misuse of (good) dope. Don't use dope to hurt others. Assert your freedom to make your own decisions
about dope. And have a good trip (27).

Hippies believed that dope was about fun, revolution and was good for their body and soul. They lived by the creed: "If it feels good, then do it so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else." (29) Dope was believed to be useful in many different ways. One specific use of dope was to heighten intimacy and interpersonal interaction.

In the counterculture movement dope and sex were often intertwined. Hippies believed that people should be free to express their sexuality as they chose and use dope to boost the sexual experience. Hippies had extensive reasoning as to why they should enjoy sex. They used the same credo for sex as they did for dope.

Homosexuality and nudity developed a consciousness within the Hippiedom as well and became part of the new sexuality. It was not long before the consequences of this life-style forced the counterculture to deal with issues such as social diseases, birth control and abortion. These new obstacles did not deter them from participating in orgies and organized free sex which they believed was harmless, helped break down social barriers, created community spirit and was beneficial to one's private sex life (65).

While dope and sex were major elements of the counterculture movement in the late 1960's and early 1970's the movement was not complete without rock and roll. Rock and roll was believed to have been a major influence on the feelings and beliefs of the counterculture. It became a way of life and a means of communication. The lyrics reflected the counterculture's values and in turn helped shape them (78). Rock and roll festivals and concerts were considered sacramental gatherings by the counterculture. They provided opportunities for massive indulgence in dope, nudity, sex, rock and community. Woodstock was one such example of a sacramental gathering to hippies.

Rock and roll and dope played a major role in developing communal living arrangements within the hippie countercultural movement. Those who lived in the communes believed they were rejecting mainstream society. The communes were usually located in the country so that the communards could "get back to the basics", by living off the land."

Hippies created their own "love" generation (104). Although the counter-culture movement attempted to stay free of the mainstream, they were not immune to opposition from the traditional society. Conventional society was opposed to dope, sex, rock and roll and hippies' sense of community. Hippies believed love was the only answer to major problems afflicting the world (105). As a result of their beliefs on love, they had some political implications.

Hippies believed in disinvolvement and felt that voting was useless and politics were not a concern of "free" people. This resulted in hippies "dropping out" as they fell out of the mainstream society and into a New Age (110). Despite "dropping out" they had to keep one
foot in the mainstream door because they had to work. While hippies worked by necessity they believed money was meaningless and just a necessary evil. They considered play to be much more important in their value system. In order to stay true to their beliefs they would only play games, such as Frisbee, that did not require score keeping, competition and rules. If people did not incorporate play into their day, hippies believed they were missing out.

By all accounts hippies did their own thing and believed they were starting something new with the "sexual" revolution, the drugs and the rock and roll. However, while they were "loving" everyone and "getting back to the basics" they were just repeating history; but their movement is probably the most substantial remnant of hip culture we have (136). They did not look at the past to see how wrong they were. For example, they were iconoclasts. However, iconoclasm is another classic American virtue. They were different in that new issues were under attack. They chose to confront rationality, technocracy, and materialism (126).

The hippies' idea of living in the country in their communes was also not a new idea. The establishment of thousands of communes in rural areas was a replay of the agrarian ideal not
to mention a communal vision - which was well established in the nineteenth century. Sexual freedom was another case in point. For years there have been groups who deviate from the norm when it comes to patterns of heterosexuality, monogamy, marriage and wearing clothes (127).

In the counterculture movement women were referred to as "chicks" or if they were in a relationship they were "old ladies" (16). Women withdrew from the "sexual" revolution
because it involved male predominance. "Free" sexuality, like any other kind, "carries with it an
unwarranted domination by the man, of the woman, which injures both," a hip southern female wrote.

Another woman was more blunt: ''The talk of love is profuse but the quality of
relationships is otherwise ...The idea of sexual liberation for the woman means she is not so much free to f*** as to get f***ed over ...Our mothers could get a home and security, a prostitute money, but a hippie woman is bereft of all that "(67).

The question will forever remain as to whether the hippies had a lasting effect on American society and its values. They certainly attracted public awareness during their time with the popularization of recreational drugs and the new attitudes toward sex. They believed with all their heart, at the time that they were making a huge impact on the world. Although after their "heyday" it is questionable if what they thought they were working towards was ever accomplished.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in American history, counter-culture history.

Timothy Miller's book is an excellent assessment of the effects of the hippy generation on present day society, both good and bad. It's a must read for anyone who wants to understand what was going on in the 60s. For a thrilling fictional work, have a look at "Life Boiling Over" by Jon Michael Miller. This brilliant novel deals with a couple who go through the hippie scene together, starting at Ohio State University and ending up in Woodstock and San Francisco. It follows the turbulent events that culminated in the campus turmoil that led to four student deaths at Kent State. Through passion, folly, joy and love, the couple struggles to understand themselves and their relationship. Their struggle comes to conclusions that will startle you. It's by far the best book I've ever read about the hippie generation.

Although it has become fashionable to denigrate the whole hippie era as ineffective and counterproductive, Timothy Miller does much in this book to set the record straight about the considerable legacy of the Counter Culture -- for better or for worse.

From the ethics of sex, dope and rock and roll, to the questioning of property rights and greater latitude in daily speech, from New Age spirituality to more ethical investments in the market place - to the very food we eat - hippie culture has had a tremendous and continuing impact on American society.

*The Hippies and American Values* appears to pick up where Theodore Roszak's book, *The Making of a Counter Culture* left off. More than 20 years ago, Roszak showed how an alienated generation undermined the foundations of the prevailing technocracy. Miller acknowledges this but goes on to point out how the Counter Culture gave free press and credence to right-brain values that they saw as much neglected -- this before "right-brain, left-brain" became buzz words.

"Peace, love and flower power are no longer standard argot," observes Miller, "...Hip culture has bloomed and died like a centuryplant..." But the "new ethics" of the hippies are here to stay nevertheless. They are a potpourri of traditional values, untried social experiments, and a few truly original ideas for an American setting. Hippies attacked new icons such as technocracy while honoring agrarian values coupled with a new hip Eco-consciousness. The Counter Culture dropped out, disaffiliated from the prevailing society and changed themselves in order to change the world.

What I like most about this book is that it is a resource. It belongs right up there on my bookshelf with Roszak's classic study and with *Sleeping Where I Fall* by Peter Coyote, for starters. It's no dry old bone, however. There are marvelous pictures of Be-Ins and Drop City, and rock groups and posters. There is a bibliography of both well-known and obscure underground newspapers (from which the author quotes extensively). Where and when was the first Earth Day, the first Human Be-In, that Death-of-Hip coffin? They're all here. And more. Miller points us to where and how the legacy continues even to this day. If you never read another book about hippies, read this one. pamhan99@aol.com

I was all prepared not to like this book...
but by the time I was 3/4 through...it won
me over. It's really very good...no wonder
Corso inspired his famous friends.

Mindfield is an expansive retrospective of poems by one Gregorio Anuzio Corso. This guy is one of the original Beats. He was part of the original seven of Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs, Huncke, Holmes, Cassidy and Corso. Corso wrote an excellent collection called Gasoline which is generously represented in this book. This volume also includes poems from Corsos books for New Directions. Poems like Bomb and Marriage are Beat classics. Long Live Man should be retitled Long Live Corso! Corso never attained the level of noteriety of Ginsberg, Kerouac or Burroughs but there is work in this collection that will really make you wonder why. Shorter poems like Italian Extravaganza and I Am 25 really hit the spot. (amazingly Corso can still pull off I Am 25 at readings even as he reaches the age of 70) This is American poetry by an American original. It would be great to see Corso garner the recognizion that he has so long deserved.

If you like Ginsberg, you'll undoubtedly love Corso. If there is to be any collection that represents his art, this is it. I found out about Corso through a Professor at the old College I used to attend while I was writing some of my own work, and practicing with the art of poetry. For any writers and readers of poetry, if you want something out there, stretching the boundaries of form, if you want beat poetry at its heart, this is the book for you.

this book is an absolute dream for those of us who were not able to join Kesey and the Merry Pranskters first hand. And after reading Electric Koolaid it was nice to hear first hand what went on. I loved this book. ---young but still on the bus

In 1998, writer Brian Preston received a call that would forever change his life...

The contents of that phone call were that, he was supposed to write a piece for Rolling Stone Magazine about the marijuana culture in Vancouver (the place which he called home for 9 years). Known as the west-coast stoner dude (by his editors) they saw Brian fit for this assignment.

In Vancouver he was able to obtain status of one of the marijuana judges at the first ever Cannibus Culture Cup. Merely a spec on the grand spectrum of his journey, nonetheless, it's still where it begins. His travels then take him to: Nepal - Southeast Asia - Austrailia - England - Amsterdam - Switzerland - Spain - Morocco - the Kootenays - and finally back to the ol' U.S.A..

The main theme portreyed throughout this book was Exploration - the need to search for greater understanding of something (in this case, pot). Although nowadays we no longer call people who are journeying around the world in the search of a broader explanation explorers, we call them tourists or fanatics, but in this case Brian Preston, is most definately the Christopher Columbus of marijuana culture (at least to me he is).

If you like reading about "HIGHER" travels then this is most definately the book for you. But if you are intolerant to marijuana and silly activists scoured throughout the world who all have the same goal - legalization, then perhaps this isn't the book for you...

Having just completed 'Pot Planet', I'd like to say how great this book is. Being an lover of all things ganja, I am so pleased to see someone finally writing about the truths behind the marajuana culture. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

This travelogue/cultural history study is a fast-paced peek into the history and hypocrises of this happy herb. Without being too much of a tour-guide, and more like a buddy you're bumming around the world with, Preston takes us from the sweet, sticky buds of Vancouver, B.C, to the opium-laced weed of the Far East, stopping at places like England, Switzerland, Spain, Austrailia and the marajuana mecca, the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam on the way.

I recommend this book to anyone who is not able to vacation this year - see the world without leaving your couch!

The book itself read a little fast, with the stops he makes feeling all too brief. Having visited some of the places mentioned myself, I felt there is more that could have been said, but as always, time is a factor.

All in all though, this book is finally a true testament to pot-smoking throughout the world, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys this natural plant, in all her splendor.

Thirty years ago, there were plenty of late night delirious conversations about how someday soon you could buy grass at your local supermarket. But pot somehow is a much bigger deal than anyone had thought, a world-wide obsession over a simple weed that millions find fun or useful, and others find perilous. So Brian Preston, a Canadian journalist, decided he would do a worldwide survey of the international marijuana scene. It was a perfect self-assignment: he likes vagabonding, and he likes getting stoned. The result, _Pot Planet: Adventures in Global Marijuana Culture_ (Grove Press) is a hilarious travelogue through smoke filled rooms, with a subtly serious message: "What's more likely to destroy the earth, pot or pollution? And there's a war on pot?"

Preston is a dedicated journalist, or at least he loves his subject so much that he is happy to go to enormous lengths to investigate it. "For much of the research and most of the writing of this book, I was high on marijuana. Now then - it can't be _that_ amotivating." He becomes a judge of the Cannabis Culture Cup, with the difficult task of rating all these strains, and more, in the categories of appearance, fragrance, texture, taste, aftertaste, and stone (and he remarks on the difficulties of evaluating that last category after you have already judged other entrants; he can't, like a wine taster, just spit it out). He has funny stories from all over. "If you want to score anywhere in Asia," Preston advises, "just find a place where they're playing Bob Marley music." In the town of Nimbin, Australia, there are "grass palaces," houses paid for by pot cultivation: "They were hippies; now they're middle class." One wants to franchise pot restaurants in the shape of a giant bong, the Big Bong Burger Bar. In Switzerland, searching out contacts, Preston asks a city employee, a tourist helper, "Do you know where I could by _hemp_ products around here? Like clothing and stuff?" She thinks a minute. "Hmmm. Hemp clothing... No... But we have three stores where you can buy grass!" In Morocco a shady tourist guide assures him about purportedly fine hashish, "Half a kilo, Brian! Very easy to hide in a suitcase for the flight home!" In Canada, backwoods growers have given death threats to those who wish to introduce hemp production for fiber, because of the fear that the low-stoning hemp will cross pollinate and ruin the intoxicant varieties.

In every chapter, Preston shows that American politics have affected global marijuana in ways that not even the most rabidly anti-pot politician would favor. Naturally, Preston knows just what the US and the world ought to do with marijuana laws, but he usually withholds proselytization on the issue. He is an amusing writer with clever comparisons; a stoner holds in his toke so deeply that he eventually disgorges "a cloud of smoke huge and heavy enough to show up on a satellite weather shot." He withholds most of his serious arguments until his last chapter, which is quite accurately titled "Pot Polemic." And he has graceful ambivalence about what legality might bring, having seen a bit of it in Amsterdam, pushed like booze and tobacco: "Is this what legalization would be like? Would pot become just another consumer product, marketed like any other line of goods in Babylon?" Maybe there would be disadvantages, yes, but this book is indispensable for anyone who wants an amusing survey of the current world marijuana situation. Americans, especially, would do well to catch this bigger picture.

Brian Preston documents his travels as he encounters the people, places and events that make up the core of the world's modern cannabis culture.

Preston's flobal ganja voyage begins in BC, at the first Cannabis Culture Cup in February 2000, held at Marc Emery's home on the Sunshine Coast. From there, Preston travels the world's weedy hotspots, sampling buds and meeting the locals in Nepal, Southeast Asia, Australia, England, Amsterdam, Morocco, BC, and the USA.

Cannabis Culture readers will recognize many of the people who Preston encounters on his travels. In Amsterdam he tokes with Sensi Seeds founder Ben Dronkers, in Australia he hangs at the Nimbin Hemp Embassy and attends their annual Mardi Grass, In California he discusses DEA raids with med-pot icon Dennis Peron. In Vancouver he gets high on buds from Marc Emery, and discusses activism with locals like David Malmo-Levine.

Pot Planet is a perfect snapshot of the people, places and events that make up the global ganja culture during the dawn of the new millennium. The book is written in a friendly, conversational style. It's an easy and enlightening read, and will be enjoyed by both chronic and non-toker alike.

While dated, and slightly insular, this text is an excellent introduction to the sub-culture of fanzines and fan fiction. While many of the current generation of fans seem to believe fan fiction was born online around 1994, they should be surprised and hopefully pleased to discover the rich (off-line) history of the phenomenon, dating all the way back to the pulp magazines of the 1930s.

Culture studies has been one of the most provocative and controversial areas of investigation in the social sciences during the last score years or so. Using the tools of postmodern analysis of texts, and the deconstruction of ideas, institutions, and forms scholars have reshaped our understanding of everything from the mundane to subjects acknowledged by all as critical to our modern society. In this important book Henry Jenkins turns his considerable analytic skills on the role of television fans in adopting and making their own several important series and movies. Jenkins, on the faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writes both as a scholar and a fan fully immersed in the culture that produces conventions and a wide range of artistic products associated with television.

"Textual Poachers" emphasizes how fans of various television shows and movies have embraced the characters and "universe" of the shows and made them their own. In most cases they participate in the continuing saga of the characters of the story by fashioning their own narratives based on the series. Be far the most famous of these participatory series is "Star Trek," which was the first series to attract this type of fan following, and still the largest of all of them. It has spawned not only multi and varied clubs for those interested in the ideals of the series, but also inspired a range of creative responses in art, literature, costume, engineering, erotica, music, and drama. In so doing, those that are a part of the fan culture of the series emphasize the interplay of the crew "family" aboard the Star Ship Enterprise, the ideals of the United Federation of Planets, and the challenges of moving beyond the humdrum of existence on Earth to a more exciting and rewarding life within the broader cosmos. The ranges of responses are almost as broad as the number of people involved, and Henry Jackson makes clear that all of those responses are legitimate in the "universe" of fandom.

Jenkins writes at length about the responses of fans to several television programs beyond the famous "Star Trek" phenomenon. These include "Alien Nation" (1989-1990), "Dr. Who," (1963- ), "Magnum, P.I." (1980-1988); "The Man from Uncle" (1964-1968), "Remington Steele" (1982-1987), "Simon and Simon" (1981-1988), "Twin Peaks" (1990-1991), and others. But the series fans that Jenkins spends the most time analyzing are those attracted to "Beauty and the Beast" (1987-1990). The romance between Catherine (Linda Hamilton) and Vincent (Ron Perlman) captured the imagination of a larger number of viewers and they used that on-screen relationship as the cultural materials from which they created a vast array of "stories, songs, videos, and social interactions." It proved a powerful inspiration for enormously romantic depictions.

Henry Jenkins also draws attention to the fact that the vast majority of those a part of this fandom, are white, middle-class women seeking something more than they experience in their everyday lives. They seem drawn to television series with compelling characters interacting in a sophisticated manner. They emphasize relationships and tend to soft-pedal action and adventure in their formulations. At sum they seem to be creating through their efforts a place of refuge, acceptance, and intimacy for themselves and their co-participants. This is captured well in a song, "In My Weekend-Only World," written by T.J. Burnside Clapp to express her love of the fan conventions that she attends:
"In an hour of make-believe
In these warm convention halls
My mind is free to think
And feels so deeply
An intimacy never found
Inside their silent walls
In a year or more
Of what they call reality.

In my weekend-only world,
That they call make-believe,
Are those who share
The visions that I see.
In their real-time life
That they tell me is real,
The things they care about
Aren't real to me." (p. 277)

Henry Jenkins' study is a superb analysis that will change the perspective all who read it about the fan culture and its place in modern society. It is difficult not to emerge from reading this book without a sense of wonder about the talented individuals who are a part of this fan culture and how they seek to live their lives on their own terms, in the process creating for themselves idealized "universes" more like those they glimpsed in the television fictions that they embrace.

This is a gem of a book. Jenkins combines an "insider's" understanding of media fandom with serious, well-grounded scholarship to provide one of the few scholarly works on this subject which is not riddled with unacknowledged biases or factual errors (you know, the sort of misrepresentations of series content which suggest that the scholar didn't think enough of the subject matter or their fan informants to bother to get it right). As someone who was practically raised by classic "Star Trek" re-runs and who continues to find inspiration and healing in many science fiction TV programs -- and who hopes to continue to do scholarly research in this field -- I would hold Jenkins up as a model to other scholars. The major drawback of this volume is that it is now almost ten years old. There have been many wonderful series with growing fan cultures of their own (including the rise of such female heroes as "Xena" and "Buffy") since TEXTUAL POACHERS was written, but Jenkins provides a methodology and a model which can still help to interpret these more recent phenomena. Read this, and enjoy.

Jenkins starts by dispelling the stereotype of the media fan as teenaged geek in Spock ears, and explores the very real and dynamic interactions between fans and their media. He has a clear understanding of the subject and a good relationship with the people whose culture he describes, as well as a readable and intelligent style of writing. The book is not only interesting but also fun to read.

I love this book! It's an instant artists community at your finger tips. I love all the little gems of wisdom from fellow artists who are out in the world making it a more beautiful place. After reading it all the way thru I am keeping it on my desk where I can pick it up and flip thru it to find a helpful perspective or reminder of why it is I do what I do.

As a professional artist I found this book to contain many practical guideposts. Most working artists are extremely focused when it comes to their work; not so much when it comes to the business end of things. The Artist's Tao dispenses simple but profound reminders that art is no different than any other profession...to succeed requires dedication and purpose. This little book is a must for both the Seasoned Professional and Novice to stay on course.

Often times, "self-help" books give such specific advice that I have a difficult time applying the information to my own life. This book has advice that is COMPLETELY principle based. You can apply these nuggets of wisdom no matter what your current situation as an artist; no matter what your chosen medium or discipline. And your application of these principles will change as you move through your life and career.

This is definaltely worth a read. Theres quite a few twists and turns and its an engrossing read. Anyone involved in the skinhead scene will know and relate to the varied characters in the novel. Theres trouble brewing between the traditional skins and their racist counter parts. But just like life theres various shades of grey. Check it out it totally worth it.

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be: OUTSTANDING! From start to finish, this book had me in it's total control. I applaud it's important message. The author's writing style is witty, with striking humor. Such a wonderful, thoughtful work of art. I enjoyed it and you will too!

i loved this book the way the book was written makes you feel as if you are a character within the book, no B.S. written well and honest. great story that grabs you and doesn't let you go, and makes you laugh just when you wouldnt expect to.

FOR ALL HOT ROD AND CRUSIN ENTHUSIASTS, THIS BOOK IS A MUST. GREAT MEMORIES!!!!

FOR ALL HOT ROD AND CRUSIN ENTHUSIASTS, THIS BOOK IS A MUST. GREAT MEMORIES!!!!

If remember the days when you used to hang out at the drive-in and spend most of your free time at the wheel of your convertible (and some nights in the back seat), Cruisin' is definitely the book for you. This book has it all--it's a real flashback to a time that had no equal, an era of cars and freedom that will never be again. The Bash images and Witzel photos are way cool and really send you back in time. Whether it's hot rods, muscle cars, and the many places and pastimes we indulged ourselves with, this book is the definitive scrapbook of America's car culture heyday! If you love cars and enjoy the trip more than the place you are goin' to, you 'gotta get this book!

This is one of the books my daughter needed for one of her classes at OSU. It is one that she will keep.

This well researched and well written study of young people in the 1920's is indespensable to anyone who is interested in the social history of the period. It examines all facets of the "flaming youth" of the period, and offers careful analysis of the people and period. Ms. Fass uses a broad range of original sources to construct her detailed work. Despite it's breadth and depth, it is also easy and fun enough for anyone to read.

This book is absolutely indespensable to anyone who enjoys Fitzgerald, the history of young people, 20th century social history, or the 1920's.

When I was writing my book COMPLICATED WOMEN, I started looking for books that talked about what was happening with youth in the early part of the 20th century. THE DAMNED AND THE BEAUTY had everything I needed to know. Fass's research is thorough and impeccable, and she's a fine writer. I leaned heavily on this book and on Fass's research. I read other books, plenty of them, but kept coming back to this one. Anyone interested in the 1920s should read this. No scholar who writes about the 20s should dare pass this up.

This books provides piercing and engaging analysis. It shows a supurb care to represent the issues/persons/movements it speaks of accurately.

As one who has a fascination with the 60's counterculture, but also sees many of its flaws, this book provides a wonderful basis for dialog and a balanced approach which is ready to stand up against error whether it is in establishment or counterculture garb.

You should see the citations for this book, very in-depth! The wide variety of subjects and concepts that Guinness covers really makes this an interesting read.

Guinness consistently produces great works that are academic but also highly practical. This is not an exception. I highly recommend The Dust of Death.

So as not to be redundant, I will 'second' the prior reviews, all of which are entirely accurate. Furthermore, Os Guinness is an exceptional writer and thinker. "The Dust of Death" is cogent, clear and well written. I have shared copies with people who have a G.E.D. to Ph.D's, and all have remarked of how clearly Guinness expresses his thoughts, and how easy it is to follow his analysis. His insights were valid and accurate when first written and continue to be relevant.

Like Dr. Groothuis, when I first read this book in 1994, I was encouraged to begin developing disciplined habits of mind, eventually going on to graduate school. Typically, I read this text at least once a year.

In summary, this book is an engaging and stimulating read.

Os Guinness is one of the most brilliant contemporary Christian social critics in the evangelical camp. This was his first book, originally published in 1973 by InterVarsity Press. Guinness got his intellectual start with the late Francis Schaeffer (apologist, theologian, and social critic, who died in 1984), working for several years in Switzerland at the Schaeffer community called L'Abri (shelter). He has since written many books, such as "The Grave Digger File," "The American Hour," "Fit Bodies, Fat Minds," "Dining With the Devil," "God in the Dark," and "A Time for Truth"--all of which I recommend highly.

This book marked a turning point in my intellectual life when I read it in 1977. Along with "The God Who is There" by Francis Schaeffer, it gave me the intellectual confidence to engage the world of ideas with passion and precision, for the glory of God. It is an exceptional piece of Christian social criticism, well thought-out and keenly written. Guinness thoroughly analyzes the historical and philosophical roots of the countercultural in a scholarly, but engaging manner. He meticulously documents his sources and is never condescending or unfair concerning views he opposes. Guinness philosophically analyzes the roots and fruits of the counterculture and finds them wanting logically and ethically. However, he does not endorse the American status quo. Instead, he calls us to follow "the third way" of Jesus Christ, in a radical community of love and truth.

The edition of the book contains some new material taken from Guinness later magisterial work, "The American Hour" (a book that never received the recognition it deserved). I recommend "The Dust of Death" for anyone desiring to understand the effect of the counterculture on American life. It is a model of how a Christian mind should engage contemporary culture.

Douglas Groothuis, Professor of Philosophy, Denver Seminary

Totally awesome... I'm only halfway through but anyone interested in tattoo (culture, history, development, art, etc.) and its roots in NYC should have this book. Full of interviews & pictures... there's a lot here and a lot of information to digest, esp. about Brooklyn, Lower East Side, Bowery, etc. I can't reccommend this book enough! So get it!

Excellent book. It takes you back to a different era, when tattoo shops were only on the rough side of town, and the tattooers were salty old dogs who took no guff from anyone. Full of humor in the recollections of many well respected old-timers. Very interesting to see the slight differences in recollection, by the subjects' memories of things that happened. Excellent prints of traditional flash and old photos.

So few texts have been written based on quality research into old-school/traditional style tattoos, but this one stands out as a shining example. Wonderfully laid out, providing both a historic, relationship, and spatial vision of what the tattoo culture was from just before WW 2 until the late 60's.

Excellent, and I highly recommend for anyone's collection.