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Communal Organization and Social Transition: A Case Study from the Counterculture of the Sixties and Seventies

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This is a richly detailed, fascinating look at the organization of the social groups known as "hippie communes". This book examines a number of these communities that existed in Vermont and Western Massachusetts during the 1960's and 1970's. The book focuses on a confrontation between the laid-back "Jackson's Meadows" commune and the more aggressive and regimented "Krishna Brethren" commune over a piece of land in Vermont. I personally lived with the pseudonymous "Krishna Brethren" as a young teenager during 1970-1975 and personally witnessed some of the events and all of the locales mentioned in the book. The writer's impartial description of the drama was a real eye opener for someone like me who was too young at the time to fully grasp the psychological and political issues that were invoked by the conflict. I do recall how the rival group was demonized by the Krishna Brethren during some of their lectures and Meetings, especially when the JM leader refused to capitulate to the Brethren's demands. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the commune movements of the late sixties and early seventies. For anyone who lived with the communities described, this book is a MUST READ!!