Customer Reviews

Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love and Its Quest to Spread Peace, Love, and Acid to the World

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm surprised at the negative reviews of this book as far as content is concerned. Nick interviewed all persons willing to give input into his book.
Many of the "brothers" are silent today. They are laying low, out of sight and hopefully out of the attention of the agencies who pursued us for so many years.
For many years, late into the seventies, I was stopped and searched by Customs agents whenever I was returning from an international trip. It had the effect of making one desire to be invisible. I don't personally know or remember, "Thumper." He apparently became a protege of John Gale after I left. But much of what he details sounds accurate. The theme I most appreciate about this particular story about the Brotherhood is that (at least in the sixties) we did not exist to make money (although money is nice) but were greatly fueled by a desire to change a world which seemed to be heading for violent chaos or at the very least, a mindless- cookie cutter society. We had become transformed by the taking of LSD and mellowed by the smoking of pot and hashish. This book describes the feeling of those times.

First I have to note that Nick Schou and I go back a few years. He gave my first reporting job back at OC Weekly in 1996. He's an outstanding writer, reporter and friend. And he knows a good story when he finds one.

Here he's managed to describe in surprisingly colorful detail an underground of hippie drug smugglers that spent the late 1960s hopping between Laguna Beach, Maui and Afghanistan. Tim Leary's here, of course, but so are a band of characters far more interesting and idealistic, in my opinion. That nearly all spoke to Schou on the record is testament to his skills as a reporter.

One one level this is a crime story: the evolution of a hippie drug smuggling operation and the cops who eventually took it down. But it's also a larger than life story about people who used highly illegal and unconventional ways to, in their point of view, bring peace on earth.

Put simply, it's a fascinating read.

Nicholas Schou has done a remarkable job demystifying the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, one of the most secretive and mysterious counterculture groups of the 1960s. The first historian to speak extensively with the group's original members, Schou sorts fact from fiction and shows how an American utopian movement morphed into criminal organization. Orange Sunshine is an important addition to the historical literature of the 1960s.

Peter Maguire is the author of Law and War, Facing Death in Cambodia, and Scammers (forthcoming).

This is a great book for anyone interested in the 60s, the counterculture, lsd, and the period of time when many thought a cosmic change of human consciousness was possible. Having just finished "The Harvard Psychedelic Club," I was happy to find a completely different look at the same period in "Orange Sunshine."

Although Leary figures in both books, "Orange Sunshine" is not about Harvard Professors, Beatnik Poets or famous writers. The Brotherhood was made up of lower middle-class suburban boys whose interest in cars and football were replaced by visions of god after taking LSD. John Griggs, the charismatic leader, had visions of establishing a hippie utopia on a tropical island and began selling some drugs to finance his vision. Griggs, an apparently sincere religious seeker, saw his vision give way to ego and money as the brotherhood morphed into an international drug smuggling ring.

This rise and fall takes place in suburban Orange County, Mexico, Afghanistan and Maui, and makes for an intiguing social history. The cast of characters, their adventures, their acid trips and their legal skirmishes provide great stories and add to the rich story of that decade. Highly recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is peopled with interesting characters, places, and events. It is well written and kept my interest from beginning to end. It also really tells what was wrong with the 60s counterculture and it is fascinating to me to see how these lessons have been largely forgotten or conveniently ignored today. There was an idea that people could live communally and progress to some kind of utopia, but the book reveals that human nature cannot be wrung out of people, despite the best of intentions. Egotism, ambition, greed, and jealousy are not characteristics restricted to wall street bankers and oil executives.

If you're interested in the history of the cultural revolution in America known as 'the 60's' then this book is for you. It not only is rich in it's descriptions, personalities and research the writing is excellent. It reads like a novel but it also is a cultural history book. I've read lots of books on the subject and this one rank right up there with 'Storming Heaven'. You will find information in this book that you will not find anywhere else.
I recommend it highly if you want to understand the 'under-pinnings' - the movement of consciousness - and it's cultural integration from 1966 - 1972 in America.

If you lived during this time period, this book will bring back some memories. I lived back east, but now I learned that this whole "Sunshine" thing was launched from Orange County California, right where I live now. A very interesting history of one very large aspect of the "Counter Culture." A good read for former Sunshine users and those Nuvo Hippi wannabees who where too young and missed it.

This book is one wild ride. The LA Times just called it the definitive look at the dark side of the '60s, and that's how I would describe it myself.

I loved this book, but I am very interested in 1960's & 1970's culture. Moreover, I am a lifelong resident of Southern California & have lived in Orange County for 33 years, so this was fascinating! I had first read about The Brotherhood of Eternal Love in the brilliant book, Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: the CIA, the Sixties & Beyond by Martin A. Lee & Bruce Shlain. Ever since then, I was intrigued because the Brotherhood was from MY 'hood! Laguna Beach is a charming coastal town now & during the 1960's it was a haven for artists & hippies. It was also fairly Conservative (as most of Orange County is today), so it is amazing that this large & very successful drug operation was taking place there. A highly detailed account of the inner workings of this pretty secretive organization & an historical treat for those living in the "OC".

I was around during this time and even mentioned in the book. Many people during this time period talked with Nick about the Brotherhood of Eternal Love which was an group of spiritually orientate people and wanted to spread their knowledge of God and Love to others, sharing their experiences and taking groups of people out in the wildness to take LSD and have an spiritual experience, finding Love, compassion for all mankind and taking that home with them and spreading the love they found with others. So this book relates personal experiences and who some of the member were and what they were like. What I found amazing is that we all had a different experience some better than others and some of the stories they told I hadn't heard before. The Brotherhood of Eternal Love was a spiritual group and also a major smuggling ring of Hash and Marijuana and producers of some of the strongest LSD. The story tells of the police that wanted to take them down and how the government was dead set against the wisdom from the use of these drugs to get out and used by more people. Nick did a good job with what information was given to him. Many members are still leery of talking about what went on during this time. But we realize it does need to be told so the truth will come out and everyone will know what really happened not just what they (who ever) want you to know. So more books like this one will be published and hopefully it can be told without the ego involved.