Rating: 
Summary: The magic bus
Review: Tom Wolfe follows Ken Kesey's magic bus across America in one of the best road books of the modern era. He captures the era in all its crazy, kinetic glory, from the acid tests in Haight-Ashbury to the final descent upon Timothy O'Leary's inner sanctum in New York. But, the Merry Pranksters were out of their element in the tightly controled world of the LSD guru. The Pranksters' world was a mad-cap adventure, following on the heels of Jack Kerouac with Neal Cassady at the wheel of the bus. The book gives you all the sordid details of the acid tests which launched the psychedelic world in San Francisco in the 60's. Wolfe provides wonderful word-images of these parties that revolved around the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Kesey emerges as the leading figure of this counter culture, when LSD was still legal. However, his feel-good notion of this hallucinatory drug comes into sharp contrast with O'Leary's transcendental notions. Along the way, the Merry Pranksters meet Larry McMurtry and other interesting figures of the time, as the bus skirts the lower half of the United States before making its away north to New York. Kesey also has a brief visit with a down-and-out Jack Kerouac, whose On the Road had inspired this adventure, but Kerouac was having none of the Pranksters, much to their chagrin. Wolfe highlights the difference between the East Coast and the West Coast when it came to LSD. Obviously, his affinity was for the West Coast as he captures this tale in all its wonderful mixed-up glory, making for a thoroughly enjoyable read!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read - Portrait of a Time and Place
Review: Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is both a great work of research and an entertaining portrait of a time and place, following the exploits Ken Keseys' Merry Pranksters on the authentic Magical Mystery tour of discovery. The acid tests are of course LSD experiments, but the book is about much more: the hippie era, the wonder of life, the value of questioning tradition. Above all it's a colorful and entertaining depiction of a time and place. Grab a moment and read this one -- and prepared to be transported. Take this trip -- you'll love it. Also recommended: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: What's In Your Kool-Aid?
Review: For anyone interested in the hippie generation, the origins of public interest in LSD, the San Francisco scene of the mid to late 60's, the Psychedelic Rock music of that same era, or just an interesting story about counter-culture, here it is. Wolfe does an amazing job of writing this book as a story rather than an organization of events or facts. Once you get past the first 2 chapters, you can actually feel yourself being "on the bus," that is to say, part of the story. I personally found it quite amazing how many roots were formed by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. You are able to experience the origins of the Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury, LSD use, anti drug laws, and even "the Magical Mystery Tour." Throw in the Hell's Angels and a fugitive flight to Mexico and this makes for one great story!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: It is writen after Kesey comes back from Mexico. I think it would have been alot cooler if it was written from the begining. But it is still a great book- and is not just about Kesey but all the Pranksters-CASSIDY-.
If you like this stuff you should look into reading some Timmothy Leary stuff. His position of how LSD should be used is different then Ken- two interesting people.
Rating:
Summary: "Pre-Hippie-Counter Culture" Biography
Review: My favorite book. Wolfe's writing style reflects the irony, energy, and innocence of Kesey's gang. Also, it is a great Neal Cassady, post-Beat/Ginsberg/Kerouac, account for all of his followers.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe if I was there...
Review: Wolfe, in his author note, states that he attempted to "re-create the mental atmosphere or subjective reality [of the Pranksters]." While I laud his attempt to let us know what hanging with the Merry Pranksters was really like, I really just didn't get it. There is some fine journalistic writing in the book, but it is buried under all the "mental atmosphere" writing, which probably only makes sense to those people who have taken acid (which does not include this reviewer) or who were part of the late-1960s counterculture in San Francisco (which again does not include this reviewer, who was born in the late 1960s). Anyone who is expecting a "straight" account of the Pranksters are advised to steer clear, but those with a taste for the surreal will probably find this book quite enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: I Never Learned So Much About Acid
Review: Wow. I really did not realize the social, economical, and cultural importance of the drug acid. Tom Wolfe brilliantly explains how the once legal drug influenced a whole generation of "merry pranksters," expanding their minds and consciousness. "Electric Kool-Aid" describes the travels of the Merry Pranksters (a group of "hippies" on a pilgrimage from Cali to New York) and the colorful characters that join them. From the Hell's Angels to Ginsberg, Wolfe informs the reader of various "acid tests" and how the life of Ken Kesey and Neal Cassady influenced this genre of living. Even the Grateful Dead are included (prior to reading this book, I did not realize that the drug acid also produced the genre of music titled "acid rock").
I would reccommend this book to anyone seeking the thrill of an acid trip without the acid. Wolfe's formal writing aspects deliever a message that perhaps, yes, the 60s was indeed a horror show, mirroring such events as Vietnam and lousy political leaders such as Nixon. Despite all of the chaos, a group of intelligent and charasmatic patrons decided to expand their horizons and indeed imerse themselves in the "Electric Kool Aid Test."
Rating:
Summary: Takes you safely through the madness
Review: For those of us fortunate enough to not be a young adult during the sixties - this book takes you safely through the madness of the time. It is extremely well written, and at points you feel as if you're in the middle of some drug-crazed party with the Merry Pranksters and the Dead. Truly an insight into the period and the consequences of the reckless abandon that we are still paying for today!
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Summary: Indeed, an American Classic
Review: My first expression is, "Wow. What an awesome book." Well, maybe this isn't an awesome book, but I found it to be awesome for me. I can't justify giving this 5 stars because it's not a 5 star book. Let me explain. Suppose there's a song on the radio, and you know it's not really the best song in the world. But you love it just the same. That's what I feel about this book. It's not the best book ever written. But it really works for me. I am saddened to see this book come to a close. This is because the Prankster story essentially dies at the end. Sure, they will always be Pranksters, and throughout this book, I felt like I was a Prankster too. The story is one of American history; one that defines something unique and heavily influential in its time. The book does a great job making me feel like I was there. I am there. I am a Prankster. I feel sad now because the Prankster movie is over. Cassady is dead. Kesey is dead. The Prankster movie is no more. With this book, Wolfe is able to draw me into the movie and drop me out again. Only minutes ago I read the final pages. Now I feel something I experienced is gone. A great wash of memories has rushed through my head in too short a time span. Wolfe does all of this in 400 pages. Granted, there are times when Wolfe is on another page than I am. These are moments when the words flow from him, but not *to* me. In these moments, I cannot say this is a 5 star book. If you read it, you'll be satisfied in allowing me to say that this is his movie. You might not know what I mean when I say it was his movie. But you can figure it out. This book is Tom Wolfe's movie. It is also his movie merged with the Prankster movie and how they saw it happen. I am greatly intrigued by the story of Neal Cassady. Cassady plays a central role in this, yet is always content to flip his sledge hammer, or drive whatever car he had, or do something that wasn't necessarily on the same page as anyone else. Cassady is a very interesting presence in 2 major cultural movements, namely the Beat Generation and the Probation Generation, as Wolfe so poignantly relays it. We're brought through the beginning, middle, and end of Ken Kesey's heavy run with LSD and the Merry Pranksters. We are in Perry Lane. La Honda. On the bus. In Mexico. And of course, furthur with each chapter. We experience all of these situations. We feel the reality in these words. We live it. On the cover of this book is the terse comment, "American Classic." This quote is attributed to Newsweek. One only imagines when this comment was written. Really, who cares? The point is, I think it's accurate. For the majority of this book, I wasn't sure this was a fitting description. American Classic? Well, maybe that was a bit dramatic, I thought. After having gone through it, I have to agree. An American classic. I'm still wrapped up in the euphoria of having just finished the book. So let me come back to Earth. Who is this book for? I think those people interested in the history of the 60's LSD culture previous to the Summer of Love will enjoy this. Kesey helps blaze the LSD trail in the San Francisco area in the early to mid 60's. This is a great account of that blazing story. I have also recently read Storming Heaven, by Jay Stevens. That too is a great book which turned me on to this. While Stevens does not get very subjective with his words, he does a great job covering a myriad of topics. If you want to delve into one of the many topics he touches on, this is a great start. If you're looking for an unbiased history of the time period, this isn't the book for you. So why not 5 stars? I have to be honest in rating the book on it's own merit, as opposed to how it made me feel. Yes, I loved it. But I realize that it's not perfect. The poetic ramblings are harsh. Those interludes are hard to follow most of the time. Wolfe admits that he tries to put the reader in a state which will convey the mood or atmosphere of the text. At times he does a good job. Other times, I think he misses the mark and you are left wondering. Other than that, I heartily recommend this book. It's a fascinating read which pulls you into its movie. Well done indeed.
Rating:
Summary: not as good as being there, but has to be close
Review: I keep thinking I was born at the wrong time. I missed the expatriat scene of Fitzgerald and Hemingway, the Beats, and Kesey and his counterculture scene. Wolfe's book may not be as good as being there, but it does help those of us born far too late to understand and enjoy the scene. Wolfe writes sympathetically and pretty much from the point of view of the Pranksters, as if he had been there for all of it (he wasn't). Wolfe is a fine journalist, and he does a great job here. I think this is a very important book, and I recommend it along with: Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Babbs' On the Bus (a nonfictional account of the bus trip); Burroughs' Junky; Kerouac's On the Road and The Dharma Bums; and Hunter Thompson's Hell's Angels (which I read right after Wolfe's book). Together they might help the late born Beat understand and live in the world they missed.
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