Customer Reviews

The Haight-Ashbury: A History

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> "The Bay area Vortex," is what some insiders called the Haight-Ashbury district during the hippy revolution. The area was a whirlpool that attracted psychedelic drugs and druggies, hippies, politicos, and soon-to-be famous bands, among other American oddities.
Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and the Hell's Angels could be found at dance-hall scenes lit by psychedelic light shows. It was a two-year span, from 1964 to 1966, of acid, Timothy Leary and the Vietnam War. Song lyrics held secret and not so secret messages of drugs and protest. "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times," as Dickens would say.
The Haight-Ashbury: A History starts out a little slow, especially if you are not familiar with that time and place in history. Perry was an insider of the happenings during the, "summer of love," as Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead calls the two-year span, and Perry knows vernacular of the time and place which is much like a foreign language to those of us who are uninformed. He knows the names, businesses, bands, people and the happenings. If all this is news to you, it's a little hard to trudge through this information and make sense of it.
But, if you remember the period, or are curious about the drug culture of the 60s, or if the history of rock bands intrigues you, this is definitely a book for you. There is a 71-page section where Perry writes a journal of the events that happened April through October of 1967. Local police were getting tough on drugs; residents of the Haight were tiring of tour busses full of people invading their space. The darker side of the Haight was emerging. I found this one section to be an interesting essay on society in general.
Toward the book's end, Perry ties the Haight-Ashbury events with what was happening and what had happened around the world and understanding of the "Bay area Vortex," becomes clearer. I went back and reread the opening chapters that seemed confusing at first, but now they made sense. Despite the, " . . .bitterest disappointments and most violent disruption, . . ." noted, Perry ends the book with an uplifting message and uses the history of Haight-Ashbury as an example of a Phoenix that arises from the ashes. An intriguing concept.
Sixteen pages of black and white photographs will bring memories of the events and people to the minds of those who saw this time. For those who are just learning about the era the photographs make the message clearer. You can see a young Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead. Timothy Leary shows a faint smile for the photographer and George Harrison is surrounded by admirers on Hippie Hill, August 7, 1967. Samples of the clothes, the art and the hair abound.
Educated at Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley, Perry followed the psychedelic subculture from 1965 until 1968, when he applied for a job at the Rolling Stone Magazine. Later, he became interested in the history of Middle Eastern food and is now an internationally known authority on this subject.

THE HAIGHT-ASHBURY: A HISTORY book by Charles Perry gives you a fly-on-the-wall experience of the turbulent epicenter of the counter-culture revolution that began in the 60s.

Starting with a brief history of the area, Perry provides a detailed account of the people, places, and events that would shape a relatively obscure and dilapidated area of San Francisco into one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world.

I enjoyed reading the book. Not only does the author write in detail about the major players of that time (Ken Kesey, The Diggers, Owsley, etc.), but he also provides the street addresses to many of the more famous/infamous places in the Haight(Psychedelic Shop, Free Clinic, The Drogstore Cafe, etc.). The book also has black & white photos of the people and places written about.

Perry also discusses the down fall of the Haight after the 60s and what happened to most of the people and places that were fixtures during its heyday.

I recommend it to anyone who's interested in the 60s-Hippie movement.

I loved reading this book! Even though I was never near born/growing up in the 60s, I am brutally interested in this time and decade. Reading all of the times in this book made me feel as if I was standing right there when it all happened-and, it was most enjoyable. Read it-you'll love it if you have a slight feel of the hippie times (which is honestly STILL going on). It was an inspiration for me. The book even has about 10 pages of photos of the scene. You'll laugh as you read this book and hear about crazy drug-bust stories!

What a great book! I got it because i wanted to explore how the whole hippie movement started and how it evolved (and eventually collapsed). This book is just perfect for that! The author has done a great job researching the era and presenting detailed stories and nice pictures. He also mentions various other historical milestones in the course of events in order to put the whole story in perspective. The narrative conveys a feeling of nostalgia, although it also lays down some hard facts and shortcomings of the "experimentation" that took place during those years. Overall it's a very good book, a one i really enjoyed reading. If you've always wondered about what exactly happened in the Haight-Ashbury during the late 60ies that's a very good place to start.

Having lived in the Haight just after the period covered in Perry's book, I was interested in learning about what was happening before I got there. I was very disappointed in this book, which is a tedious listing of events combined with Perry's earnest opinions on the intellectualism of the hippie movement(!) Not a hint of the joie de vivre which must have animated most of the participants, no stories of famous players on the scene--even Ken Kesey, who is certainly mentioned frequently, has no real heft. Glancing references to Janis, Grace Jimmy and others. Bummer.

This is the best account of Haight Ashbury in the 1960's that I have read. Brings back a lot of memories of that time.

A lame "history" concentrating on a few famous characters. Boring reciting of facts with no sense of the excitement, the feeling that "we can change the world", no emotions of the sheer joy of being alive at such a time. Was it misguided? Was it without a deep philosophy and not well thought out? Was it more fun than anyone ever thought possible? Yes, yes, and yes.
I was there. Perry wasn't and it shows.

From the beginning to the end, all two years of it, Perry puts the Haight-Ashbury in context of the times. He also details the sub-cultures in the Haight that made it--whatever it was--all possible. Owsley's LSD, the Diggers, Hell's Angels, the Family Dog, Merry Prankster's, Timothy Leary and his followers, Bill Graham, the Mime Troupe, artists, poets, publishers, musicians, communes to the north. . .they're all here. The few pictures in this book don't amount to much and appear in other publications, but the writing is so evocative it doesn't matter. Perry's narrative is compelling and easy to read. He takes time to explain the Diggers, for example, and where they fit in as "the conscience" of the Haight. They reappear throughout the story. You'll learn about the rise and fall of light shows at rock concerts and who was creating them and where they fit in. He even manages to effortlessly detail the history of the beautiful newspaper, The San Francisco Oracle, both in form and content. Issue by issue you'll learn how they experimented and learned to publish brilliant artwork and how the purpose of the paper shifted with the scene. After Perry details all of the ingredients that went into the spontaneous cauldron of Haight-Asbury, his narrative picks up speed into a section called, "The Be-In Era", followed by seventy pages titled, "The Deluge". Now the pace quickens with events, conditions, local and national news, deaths, celebrity visitors, heroin, police crack-downs, record deals, predators. . .all begin to fly off the page in a line or short paragraph. It's an effective style to illustrate the rapid disintegration of a beautiful dream. Finally, Perry ends with 50 pages reflecting on "What Was That?" It's an impressive conclusion, interpreting the histories of the various sub-cultures in San Francisco and how they happened to be there. He follows up with a rundown of the positive lasting effects of the era, an update (as of 1984 when it was written) on the destiny of some of the key players, and an homage to the survival--against the odds--of an amazing neighborhood.

Bought as a Christmas present for my dad. He loves it. Took him back to "those days". We both recommend this book as a great read and history reference.

The book came in time and was what we expected. What more can you ask?