Synopses & Reviews
Tom Wolfe's much-discussed kaleidoscopic non-fiction novel chronicles the tale of novelist Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters. In the 1960s, Kesey led a group of psychedelic sympathizers around the country in a painted bus, presiding over LSD-induced "acid tests" all along the way. Long considered one of the greatest books about the history of the hippies, Wolfe's ability to research like a reporter and simultaneously evoke the hallucinogenic indulgence of the era ensures that this book, written in 1967, will live long in the counter-culture canon of American literature.
Review
"An American classic." Newsweek
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"The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is not simply the best book on the hippies, it is the essential book...the pushing, ballooning heart of the matter....Vibrating dazzle!" New York Times
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"A Day-Glo book, illuminating, merry, surreal!" Washington Post
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"An astonishing book." New York Times Book Review
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"Electrifying." San Francisco Chronicle
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"An amazing book....A book that definitely gives Wolfe the edge on the non-fiction novel." The Village Voice
About the Author
Tom Wolfe is the author of more than a dozen books, among them such contemporary classics as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and A Man in Full. A native of Richmond, Virginia, he earned his B.A. at Washington and Lee University and a Ph.D. in American studies at Yale. He lives in New York City.
Table of Contents
I Black Shiny FBI Shoes / 1
II The Bladder Totem / 16
III The Electric Suit / 24
IV What Do You Think of My Buddha? / 32
V The Rusky-Dusky Neon Dust / 55
VI The Bus / 67
VII Unauthorized Acid / 87
VIII Tootling the Multitudes / 99
IX The Crypt Trip / 104
X Dream Wars / 108
XI The Unspoken Thing / 124
XII The Bust / 149
XIII The Hell's Angles / 167
XIV A Miracle in Seven Days / 182
XV Cloud / 198
XVI The Frozen Jug Band / 214
XVII Cosmo's Tasmanian Deviltry / 229
XIX The Trips Festival / 249
XX The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test / 266
XXI The Fugitive / 286
XXII ¡Diablo! / 305
XXIII The Red Tide / 310
XXIV The Mexican Bust / 325
XXV Secret Agent Number One / 331
XXVI The Cops and Robbers Game / 346
XXVII The Graduation / 371
Epilogue / 413