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Summary: Are you on the bus or off the bus?
Review: I have read the story of The merry Pranksters and they are now a part of my life. When ever I feel that I need a little excitement I pick up my very used copy and get lost in the same story and life I have known before. I wish to obtain The Movie and see for myself the wonderful pictures Tom Wolfe helped create in my mind.
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Summary: The TRUE "Bible"
Review: "Whoso must be a man must also be a non-conformist" To truly understand this story it is impartant that one look beyond the drug references in the novel. Once this is done the true nature of the wisdom contained in these pages becomes apperent. This is not simply a book about a bunch of wild partiers, rather, it is a blue print for nonconformity. The events and "stream of thought" are not simply a tale but a model of how to move "beyond" socioties influence, and find the true natrue of the self. This is at the heart of what Leary, Alpbert, Ginsberg, and all the rest said. Wolfe, however presents this much more subtely. This is important to the nature of the lessons. (rarely is it effective to simply tell some one to change their lives) My father gave me his copy of this book ( an original printing) when I was about 15 and, (thankfully;-), it has canged my life forever.
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Summary: It reads like a trip! Come-on, Peak and Come-Down!
Review: The best book I ever read! Wolfe's style is Unmatchable.
Not only is it a great piece of history, inviting you to witness the birth of the hippy scene,
But, it reads like a great psychedelic trip!
You come on fast, peak for what seems like forever, and come down with a crash!
I never had that much fun reading words on paper!
I would also recommend "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson
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Summary: Electic Kool-Aid -- The GREATEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ
Review: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is the best book I have ever read. . .
This book was poetically written, and although there are a few slow spots, I couldn't put it down. This is definitely a book that everyone should read. It tells the story of the start of the whole Acid Generation and is commonly referred to in society. My history teacher is always using the "on or off the bus" metaphor!
READ THIS BOOK. Even if you don't like it while you're reading it - finish it - you'll appreciate it someday!
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Summary: Amazing History of Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters
Review: "What a long strange trip its been." This quote from the Grateful Dead's song "Truckin'" is an apt description of this fascinating book about the LSD culture as lived by the Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. Reading this book nearly made me experience the mind altering effects of the drug that the riders of that magic bus were so fond of. If you have never experimented with LSD or the other psychedelic drugs this book portrays aan excellent picture of how those drugs alter your perceptions. This review brought to you by radio station KLSD 1000 micrograms in your head
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Summary: Weird Scene's On The Magic Bus
Review: The 60's experience mirrored in words. Sometimes we forget our roots and it is good to remind ourselves to keep a good questioning attitude. Try this book and the following:
On the Road
The Dharma Bums
Sometimes a Great Notion
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Third Eye (T. Lobson Rampa, I think)
and listen to American Beauty Rose! ;.)
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Summary: Giving new meaning to the phrase "road trip."
Review: A psychedelic ride down the Merry Prankster's cosmic highway. More fun than Mr Toads Wild Ride on acid. Tune in, turn on and flip out
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Summary: A Fantastic Trip
Review: I am personally very opposed to illicit behavior, expecially the sorts of activities described in this book. But the genious Tom Wolfe has evinced in depicting the Kesey's Merry Pranksters and the acid experience is unmatched. Who needs drugs when you can see the experience through the words? One wonders how much was documentary, and how much was experience. Some readers have, and will, draw the conclusion that Kesey is some sort of hero or example of how to live. A perspicacious reader will see much more. I hope you'll draw your own conclusion
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Summary: life in the psychedelic 60's was great, he?
Review: The book was most interesting for me, for some of the envents recounted in the plot were happening in the area I live in. Ken Kesey and the merry pranksters had a cool bus trip, didn't they?? I loved reading about it. Kinda like the Magical Mystery Tour, but before, he? And it was also fascinating for me to read about the Beatles concert in the Cow Palace in San Francisico they went to....most of all, it really happened, and following reading taht book I read Kesey's "one flew over the cuckoo's nest", which was pretty good too
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Summary: Electric Kool-Aid for a gnome
Review: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test This is a documentary by a fabulous journalist and author Tom Wolfe. Wolfe got into the world of hippies from the sixties. In this documentary about Ken Kesey, the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, it describes the actions and tribulations that these "merry Pranksters" endured and enjoyed. In the book, a small band of "free thinkers" soon become united into an everlasting bond, which is created by one thing, DRUGS. In the novel it tells the whole story of how acid got started amongst California and the United States and it pretty much started with the pranksters. And they soon learn that the law is a very difficult source to bypass. They suffer through the jail, the raids, and being on the run; all to come back together and hallucinate. For the pranksters it was all about the experience which all came from inside their heads and the acid that was fed to them. They go on many adventures, including trips across the country in the stereotypical hippie bus. It tells of their insane journeys through bad experiences while bending their mind with hallucinogenic drugs. And the parties in which are invited many different kind of people including the Hell's Angels. The pranksters also held what they liked to call "Acid Tests" in which they could spread the experience of LSD to all that were interested. It is an amazing story, especially how it is describing these young psyche expanders. The author Tom Wolfe did a great job describing the lives of these young hippies in their experience through the drug movement of America. He told the story from an almost documentary point of view in which he could partially become part of the pranksters. Wolfe could make you believe in their movement with the click of his typewriter. He got inside the mind of each of the prankster's in-order to properly explicate their lives correctly. He could use the proper language and communication to securely tell the story of these merry pranksters. His communication of the matter gave it a feeling that the book was alive, that this isn't only a documentary but pure vitality in form. Wolfe accomplished this book by a process in which he used past experiences of his own self and past experiences of others. He interviewed pranksters; and he spent much time interviewing people who were part of the prankster's lives' even if it was only for a night. And during the end of the Prankster career days he even spent time living with them. He took time out of his life to become part of this Day-Glo essence of life. This Day-Glo world full of colors, patterns, and mind trips; that's what Wolfe got himself into. Even if you disagree with the thoughts and views of the pranksters this is still a tale full of excitement, not to mention how well written it is. I do not know if Wolfe took part in the entertainment that enthralled the Pranksters; he could have stayed sober, I am unaware. This is a great book for any reader who enjoys hearing about something new. Because after you read this you will understand the hippies. -gnome
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