This Book is the best of all time it is the essence of 60's
923517
This is my favorite book it is so wonderful it isent just a book it is an  era and i feel everyone should read it eccept for children that have  problems figuring right from rong
2637949
Great book reminiscent of the beat writers of the 60's. It's a shame the author isn't better known because of astounding piece of literature<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Snakewalk/dp/0517572052/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Snakewalk</a>.
1787258
This wonderfully written book gets everything about Detroit in the 60's right.  It does not come off as a history book but gives life to a pivotal period in a complicated city.  It is hard for me to say if non-Detroiters would appreciate this novel since I did grow up there, but I believe it stands on it's own.
2029421
The best book I have ever read, of the thousands this 72 yr old man has read. Wish I could find one
3871927
If you were in your twenties in the sixties (as I was), and can't remember what it was like (as I can), this book will bring it all back.

If you weren't born yet in the sixties, and would like to visit there, not just read about it but actually GO there somehow to see what it was like in reality (whatever that is), this book is your time machine to take you there.

VD meant either syphilis or gonorrhea.  Aids hadn't been invented yet, and Herpes was just a dark cloud on the far horizon.  Hippies lived in communes and had free love and cheap pot.  Or perhaps it was free pot and cheap love.  (I'm not sure, as I never had either.)  Acid was not the opposite of alkali, but a ticket for a trip.  Also a type of guitar playing.  The only thing that could get in the way of a great sex life was your particular set of inhibitions, which you needed to shed as quickly as possible..  The only possible complication therefrom was pregnancy, and that could happen to only half of the population.

Alexandria Quartet author Lawrence Durrell (rhymes with girl) alleged that there were five sexes, not just the traditional two.  Gavin Arthur went him a few better and declared for twelve.  Hence this book.  (It's a circle that has been divided up like a clock face.)  If you had read the book and knew somebody else who did, one of the favorite sports of the time was figuring out what 'time' on the clock you were and they were and where you could safely consign other people you knew.  I was (and still am) somewhere between 11:10 and 11:15.  The person I discussed it with the most-- my wife at the time-- was pretty sure she was at exactly 5pm, though I disagreed.  (As far as I was concerned she was off the chart.)

I won't try to summarize the whole book, as that would take as long as the book itself.  Maybe longer.  I will only say that I found the theoretical stuff quite interesting, and the constant flow of anecdotes proving the author's points not just irrelevant but unsettling.

It's hard to read. (It would probably help to have at some illegal substances first.  I wouldn't know: I haven't tried that approach myself.)  But if you can light some incense, puff some occasional potpourri vapors over the pages, wear a flower in your hair, eat an Alice B. Toklas brownie or two, and just sort of let your brain go, you can get through it somehow, and be in the sixties, when everything was simple except the achievement of simultaneous orgasm.  And there were books to help with that, too.
2436634
What can I say, but "Totally Awesome"!!! If you grew up in the 80s, then you will love this book.  Every page will bring back a happy memory and a big laugh;  this is a funny book! The questions go from simple to extremely difficult. My favorite is the "guess the video" segment... I laughed my head off. If you enjoy 80s pop music, then you will definitely love this book. So buy it today, like, fer shur, it's totally radically awesome...
3148180
Exacting and the best of all time favorite book I ever read
I need more of those types of books
494853
Two chapters in I'm heading to Wikipedia to see if this is fiction like other Wolfe novels I have enjoyed or a true story.  This is the quisistential book of the 60s, the influence of LSD and how America drastically changed from the conservative 50s to the forgettable 70s.  This is not a quick read, and frankly, I could have stood about 50 pages fewer.  But it is so bizarre, so unbelievable, and so well documented that it is a must read.

From a personal perspective, I list my minor LSD experiences of the early 70s as one of the top 10 most important experiences of my life.  This book completes the story and shows the actual history of LSD and the glorious years before it was a crime and before the drug had been widely discovered.  The crux of the book is that Ken Kesey, leader of the Merry Pranksters, chooses to turn on America including the Hells Angels, to an alternative lifestyle, the self discovery of LSD phase of mind enhancing.  Such is the journey that Kesey attempts to introduce to his band and to America on a cross country journey aboard a 1939 International Harvester bus painted in neon colors.  Yes, welcome back to the beginning of the hippie culture.

While I do not consider the book in my Top 10 list as suggested by so many, this is a worthwhile read I recommend by anyone wanting to explore America culture and one of our greatest writers of the last 50 years.
4908448
I'm in my late 70s and this book is very true and sincere to everything that I've ever learned in my lifetime.  I really enjoyed reading the book and probably because it seems so true of everything that I've known before that was true; there is a thin line between the two worlds.
Thank you for an excellent book
1881179
Anyone who lived through the 80s will love the references, anyone else will wish they had lived then too - great book, didn't want it to end
3923947
is this the best book ever written? well, it certainly deserves a serious consideration for the title.it all begins with the haunting description of an ancient civilisation of ape men, then progresses to the discovery of a mysterious monolith on the moon,carries on into the depths of the solar system as a spacecraft is sent out to investigate the source of an ominous signal and finally culminates incredibly in places your imagination will never be able to understand nor believe. this book is probably the most influential sci fi classics of our times,its arguments are cogent, its implications are amazing and its visual images are stunning. its not a book, its literally a transcendent experience. if you're a sci fan devour it, if you're just an avid reader, buy it.everybody must read this book, if not have it on their book shelf. its a piece of history.
1349212
As a young boy in the 1960's this was the book on combat planes to have. When it was updated in the 80's it retained its great format and quality of information. Now this has arrived and I was in tears at how fantastic this new edition is. The printing quality is now state of the art. Loads of photos have been enlarged and printed in all their glory. The book is up to date to the F-35 and retains all the great side articles on weapons and production that were so great in the original editions. This is a work of art and studious research and belongs at the top of the list of any collection of any reference library. I can do no justice in describing what a wonderful and thoughtful reference work this is. This book is what the rest in this field can be judged by. Unbelievable accomplishment for author and publisher and printer.
1808456
The best that ever has been read by me
 Write simple but deep
With freedom and creativity
Amaising book and filosofy
3039147
A must read for anyone who was born or came of age in the 60s.  Ive laughed so hard I cried and shed a few tears of compassion and understanding.  Love this book!  I feel like Ive taken a vacation.
51533
The 60's marked a turning point as far as music is concerned-In January 1964,four young men from Liverpool,England set out to make history-I'm referring to The Beatles of course-Joel Whitburn's book clearly shows the 60's was an electic decade for music-You had Motown,the British Invasion,Phil Spector's "wall of sound" hits,surf music (Jan & Dean,The Ventures,Beach Boys) to name just a few-Highly recommended.
4097890
Fantastic!  Read this book in the early 60's when I was in Jr High and it more relevant now that ever!!!!!!!!!
4762290
This is without a doubt one of the best books of all time. The US government has been crippled by nuclear war and overthrown by a Christian Theocracy, which subjugates women and persecutes anyone who does not subscribe to the stated belief system. It's strict and secluded. The theocracy claims to protect its people, its women from how the world used to abuse them through rape and sexualization, by blaming the women and then perpetuating a worse sort of lifestyle. This book focuses on the story of one Handmaid, Offred (a name given to her after becoming a Handmaid). You can tell that Atwood is coming out of the feminist movement, as well as the backlash against feminism... Serena Joy was a lot like Phyllis Schlafly, who was quite vocal in her sense of traditionalism for women (and popularly, her stop ERA movement). Offred wasn't born a Handmaid; she remembers what life was like before and how the US changed. Much like the political apathy of today, most people in the US just slept or shrugged their shoulders, convinced that their world would go back to normal soon enough. By then, it was too late. Atwood's way of drawing out Offred's emotions, of putting visuals and sensations captivated me. I couldn't put this book down it was that addictive. I really felt what Offred was feeling and I understood why and how she came to be what she was. I only hope that the ending is what I believe.