Huerfano: A Memoir of Life in the Counterculture [Paperback]

Roberta Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2006

Winner of the 2006 Zia Award from the New Mexico Press Women With a strong, distinctive voice, Roberta Price recalls the years she spent in the Huerfano ("Orphan") Valley when it was a petrie dish of countercultural experiments. Documenting her story with photos as well as words, and placing it in the larger context of the times, she describes her participation in the antiwar movement, the advent of the women's movement, and her encounters with such icons as Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, Abbie Hoffman, Stewart Brand, Allen Ginsburg, and Baba Ram Dass.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A splendid book that beautifully captures the spirit of the moment, and it does so in the best possible way" -- Nick Bromell

"A wonderful memoir of learning, doing, sharing, and loving" -- ForeWord

"An impressive and important book." -- Alexander Bloom

"Roberta Price's 'Huerfano' evokes life in the New Age commune movement of the 60s and 70s." -- Vanity Fair,

"[F]or many people a road not taken that is fascinating to read about... Sweet children, with a sweet, sweet dream." -- L.A. Times Sunday Book Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

Selected by ForeWord magazine as one of the top ten university press books of the year. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press; New edition edition (September 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558495738
• ISBN-13: 978-1558495739
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A passionate, sexy, memoir of a high and passionate time., July 6, 2005

By 

Peter Coyote (Mill Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Huerfano: A Memoir Of Life In The Counterculture (Hardcover)

Roberta Price's book captures the moral fervor, the enormous amount of work, the sexual explorations, and the personal growth curve of one very smart, very attractive, highly educated woman who "threw it all away" (as her parents might have said) to found an alternative community in the mountains of Colorado. I knew her then and now, knew the community and lived in one like it myself. The tone, the details are compelling and true, filled me with pride, and sympathy (and a couple of shared winces.) This is a very very good book and deserves a wide audience. Peter Coyote, actor/author, Sleeping Where I Fall

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Memoir of a Memoir, January 3, 2005

By 

James Robieson (Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Huerfano: A Memoir Of Life In The Counterculture (Hardcover)

The war is grinding to a stand-off, the country is polarized, the caskets of young men are lining up in neat rows at Andrews Air Force Base, many of the young are apathetic. The year is 2005. Guess again, it's 1970 when two eastern establishment college kids gain post graduate grants to study the Hippys and to their surprise are soon building a house on a commune.
Libre `The Last Resort' where the members have eschewed connivance shopping, credit, insurance and central heating for a life of peace and `voluntary poverty' high in the mountains of southern Colorado.
Roberta Price has woven a true tale in excellent and lucid prose. The statement `if you remember the sixty's you weren't there' does not apply here. She remembers it well.
At the start I was not going to mention the fact that I was a member of that commune, however in the end I must, in order to put my stamp of approval on the authenticity of the book. She has a terrific memory of the love, the hate, the life, the death, the work, and the beauty of life in the counterculture.
In an age when college kids are more preoccupied with their YK-2 status than their F-4 (draft) status, the book is a refreshing peek into the past. If you are an old Hippy I defy you to keep the pages of this volume un-tear stained.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Excitement of Reading Huerfano", December 28, 2004

By 

Eric S. Multhaup (Mill Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Huerfano: A Memoir Of Life In The Counterculture (Hardcover)

From my perspective as a currently middle-aged member of the California Bar, the best aspects of Huerfano are the extremely vivid depictions of the early 1970's life experience, coupled with a very steady [but inconspicuous] editorial hand that keeps the narrative flowing. It flows both chronologically as far as the author's involvement in the back to the land experience, and substantively as far as calling up the most important issues like self-imposed material deprivation; the joys of natural surroundings; the ups and downs of cooperative living; bending the boundaries of family and friends.

The illustrations are enjoyable, but the quality of writing is what really distinguishes this book. The author is very clear and direct about identifying the sometimes awkward and unprecedented choices she faced, and writes in a manner that invites the reader to empathize with the choices. I really recommend this book for anyone who once had and/or still has a curiosity about stepping off the beaten track.