Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo [Paperback]

Oscar Zeta Acosta (Author), Hunter S. Thompson (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: July 17, 1989

Before his mysterious disappearance and probable death in 1971, Oscar Zeta Acosta was famous as a Robin Hood Chicano layer and notorious as the real-life model for Hunter S. Thompson's "Dr. Gonzo," a fat, pugnacious attorney with a gargantuan appetite for food, drugs, and life on the edge.

Written with uninhibited candor and manic energy, this book is Acosta's own account of coming of age as a Chicano in the psychedelic sixties, of taking on impossible cases while breaking all tile rules of courtroom conduct, and of scrambling headlong in search of a personal and cultural identity. It is a landmark of contemporary Hispanic-American literature, at once ribald, surreal, and unmistakably authentic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Immensely readable...A Chicano Manchild in the Promised Land."-- Publishers Weekly

"Acosta has entered counterculture folklore. This is the life story of a man whose pain is made real, whose roots are in question, and whose society seems to be fragmenting around him."-- Saturday Review of Literature

"The most straightforward account of a Chicano's journey in search of a dream..." - The Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

"Acosta has entered counterculture folklore. This is the life story of a man whose pain is made real, whose roots are in question, and whose society seems to be fragmenting around him."--Saturday Review of Literature

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 17, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679722130
• ISBN-13: 978-0679722137
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Hispanic & Latino

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good saga from a good writer December 6, 2002

By Michael A. Parodi

Format:Paperback

I heard about Oscar'Zeta' Acosta basically from reading Hunter S. Thompson's book but became quickly fascinated by Dr. Gonzo and wanted to know more about him. I was pleased to find out he had also written some books and was even more pleased to find out he was(is?) a very good writer. Truly an inspiration to anyone who has ever felt their identity as an american is something that they have had to come to grips with. Apart from that serious subtext, it also a very entertaining and amusing story that rolls along, introducing some interesting and memorable characters and situations. A passionate human being wrote this book and it is filled with all the honesty and humanity of someone bearing his soul to achieve a greater sense of genuine self which for Oscar Acosta means being "A Brown Buffalo"

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A counter culture Chicano's struggle to find his identity. May 6, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Acosta's Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo is a journey through the most desperate six months of his life which happen to be right in the middle of the psychadelic "drop-out" sixties. This is the story of a man whose pain is made real, whose roots are in question, and whose society seems fragmented.

We travel with him from town to town from San Francisco to Mexico in all sorts of environments. In each town he is confronted by another contact zone filled with racism, surrealism and rootlessness.

Acosta is brutally honest with himself. He calls himself the Brown Buffalo. Him and his people, killed not out of necessity but for excess. Their skins became coats and their heads were mounted on walls. They were a people used, abused and driven from their lands.
Acosta ends his book where his life actually begins as Zeta, a leader to the Chicano people, the Brown Buffalos.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Listen for the Hoofbeats October 11, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book is crude and drug-addled, but there's a lot of truth in it. Acosta opens a window into his tormented soul, and the brutality with which he examines his own life is refreshing. In a strange way, this book imparts a message of hope to the reader. It's a classic. If you dig Hunter Thompson, check it out.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this and watch Fear and Loathing in Vegas again December 17, 2004

By H. Munoz

Format:Paperback

By reading this book before watching the movie, you will see what Dr. Gonzo's life was like right before he decides to become a lawyer. If you have ever felt alienated by American ideals, regardless of your race, you will relate to this book. Acosta's writing is good and he does a great job of describing what the character is feeling when he encounters life, drugs, and ulcers.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Gonzo September 13, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

To finally learn who the inspriation behind H.S. Thompson's Gonzo attorney was a treat. This book is a must read for anyone who desired the guts to quit their job and hit the road and discover life on the 'other' side of life. Every American should graze where the Buffalo once roamed.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars wallowing in the trough of excess July 13, 2001

By Cynthia Rucker

Format:Paperback

Once one gets past the multiple occurences of multi-hued vomit and the daily self-love in the shower... As autobiography, one would do well to read this with some skepticism; Acosta makes himself into an icon of the 60s and 70s, and less a faithful recorder of that time. However, the book can also function as a wonderful novel read in the tradition of pulp novels of the 70s such as Valley of the Dolls. The last chapter shifts from the searching bravado and life on the edge quality into a moving testimony of who Acosta is, and what he is. The book has become one of the important books in the growing recognition of Chicano literature, and Oscar's papers are in a collection open to the public at the University of California. There's a 60 minute videotape of him, 10 of which are Acosta reading from this book. I wonder if his virtual voice is as wild and rich as the voice of the author in print?

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A SUPRISING TREASURE January 14, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo is a powerful book that takes the reader on Acosta's unique journey from the brown and beaten to the brown and bruised. He is a magnificent story teller and it is shines a lot of light on the struggles of the non white in this country. The writting stands alone from his fellow gonzo HST, and is equally refreshing and challenging.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb book July 8, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book is one of the most memorable I have read in many years. Oscar lived an incredible life, and his ability to render it in this book is consistently amazing. I've read this book about three times, and I reflect on the trajectory of Oscar's life often.