Famous People I Have Known [Paperback]

Ed McClanahan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0917788583 | ISBN-13: 978-0917788581 | Publication Date: October 1997 | Edition: 1st Gnomon Press ed

FAMOUS PEOPLE I HAVE KNOWN is an autobiography by portraits. Ed McClanahan wandered the fringes of academia for 30 years "working the Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing circuit" from his native Kentucky to the West Coast and back again.

We meet revolutionaries and rockabilly rounders, hippies and honkies, gurus and go-go girls, barkeeps and barflies. Sometimes the famous flash by at dazzling speed: Happy Chandler, William Styron, Jim Thorpe, Gidget and Timothy Leary.

"Whether in the enclaves of Palo Alto or on a tour of roadhouses, McClanahan takes us on unexpected but rewarding journeys." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McClanahan, whose first novel, The Natural Man, was greeted with considerable praise, delivers an odd assortment of reminiscences of his youthful adventures in the late '50s and '60s as a graduate student and erstwhile visiting lecturer in creative writing at "the Harvard of the West" (Stanford), and other stops (primarily at bars), including several escapades in his home state, Kentucky. The famous people McClanahan has known in literary circles will not find themselves in this book. As the author quotes Marcus Aurelius: "All is ephemeralfame and the famous as well," and as mentor Ken Kesey blurts within: "Fame is a wart." Rather, McClanahan spins nostalgic tales of the golden days of California hippies, recounting memories such as the recovery of his stolen typewriter from the likes of a motley crew of Doonesburyesque characters: "Wheatgerm," "Yogurt" and "Beast"all of which adds up, disappointingly, to little more than a mildly amusing diversion. First serial to Esquire and Playboy. Foreign rights: Harold Matson. November
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Those who enjoyed McClanahan's novel, The Natural Man , will be scratching their heads over the meaning and purpose of this book. He has dusted off and repolished a number of thoroughly dingy articles that he wrote over the years for such magazines as Esquire and Playboy. They deal in a sort of autobiographical way mostly with people, famous and not so famous (Jimmy Sacca, Elvis Presley, Jean Genet, Ken Kesey) and phenomenons (revolutions, rock and roll, hippies) of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The result is a whirling sideshow of a book, a peculiar mixture of anecdote, dialogue, description, travelogue, and (here and there) serious evaluation. The pieces are essentially the stuff that magazines are made ofthey don't endure. A.J. Anderson, Graduate Sch. of Library & Information Science, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Gnomon Press; 1st Gnomon Press ed edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0917788583
• ISBN-13: 978-0917788581
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,157,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Famous People" made me laugh and made me cry. . ., June 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Famous People I Have Known (Paperback)

If you ever feel nostalgic for the '60s - or any other good times and special friendships in your life - read this book. McClanahan is funny as can be, generous, and sentimental. You can only love it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Blast From The Past, September 11, 2007

By 

M. A HERBST (Mt. Vernon, Wa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Famous People I Have Known (Kentucky Voices) (Paperback)

An overage hippie I met in Frankfort, Kentucky recommended this book to me at the infamous Downtown Bar and Grill - no grill, just bar. I will be in Frankfort next month and I will thank the gentleman for recommending this book. It takes me back to my youth, after my return from Vietnam and fleeting involvement with the Left while an undergraduate. The girls were easier and a little hairier than mainstream chicks. McClanahan hits the Redneck and Leftist cultures right on their noggins - a wonderful and funny read. The essay on the Panther gathering is great.