Outposts: A Catalog of Rare And Disturbing Alternative Information [Paperback]

Russ Kick (Author), Richard West (Author), Russ Kirk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

Filled with over 500 reviews, this catalog gives readers the lowdown on sex, drugs, conspiracies, censorship, religious and political extremism, illegal activities and other "off-limits" topics--the lessons that were somehow left out of traditional schooling. Every review is accompanied by ordering information. 150 illustrations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786702028
• ISBN-13: 978-0786702022
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #926,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in the Deep South. I was conceived in Miami. I'm allergic to alcohol. I have more books than can fit in my house. I prefer cold weather and snow. I started getting gray hairs at 21, but I still don't have too many. I have terrific aim. I still like 'Peanuts' and Dr. Seuss. I can juggle. I split infinitives. I need to breathe more deeply.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining diversions, March 14, 2006

By 

Gregory Lewis "Tropicalia" (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outposts: A Catalog of Rare And Disturbing Alternative Information (Paperback)

I was actually looking for a book on how to be a better writer. My eyes scanned one shelf down, and there was this book, with its crazy, comic-book style cover. I picked it up, and scanned only a few pages when I immediately recognized that I couldn't leave the book store without Outposts. I wasn't even fully aware of what it was I had purchased, and yet my satisfaction with my purchase is unabated. For the past two days I have been putting off all my more important reading (I did also buy a book on how to be a better writer, but I have barely cracked it open) and "wasting" my time reading Outposts. When I am done writing this review, guess what I'll be doing?

Even though my copy was written in 1995, there is something all the more interesting about it, and its relevence continues. For example, what may seem like a dated section on religious extremism, is profoundly prophetic. The editor, Russ Kick, mentions in one of his reviews the bombing of the World Trade Center as an example of radical Muslim violence. Little did he know what was coming down the road six years after his book was published, and yet that section is not obsolete. Neither are the sections on drugs, sex, or other bizarre but interesting fringe culture interests. Kick tapped into 'zines, but he was ahead of the internet by about one year, or right on the cusp of the internet, and so you won't find any references to web sites or URLs. This is a catalog of printed material, only.

What makes this book even more relevent is that we are living in an age of government wire taps, government spying on our Google search queries, the whole war in the name of religion phenomenon, and just about everything else the book has to offer. Lucky for me, I bought this used at a book store, where paying cash for the book would not arouse the Fed's "book purchase keyword scrutinizer program". I just made that up, but you know it's coming down the pike!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Relevent in 2004, March 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Outposts: A Catalog of Rare And Disturbing Alternative Information (Paperback)

I have purchased a total of five copies of this book over the years. Everytime I let it out of my hands it never returned. I always wished for an updated and revised version but now I see that it's out-of -print which is a shame because even though the internet has given us a wealth of information on everything sometimes you just don't know what to look for. Simply put this book made me interested in things I never knew I was interested in. Even today it is still the perfect leaping point into the strange and alternative. And NOT for the faint. The alternative sex section really does give you information on books and such dealing with alternative sex and I'm talking Law & Order:SVU stuff. THere was even a book written that should become the Roman Catholics church "unofficial Bible." Disturbing but facinating. I've actually read this thing cover to cover like a novel.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing source for "out-of-bound"/subversive information, May 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Outposts: A Catalog of Rare And Disturbing Alternative Information (Paperback)

its an incredible resource guide for people looking for almost any kind of fringe information. i always thought i was pretty much ahead of the curve when it came to hidden or bizarre material, but i grossly overestimated my breadth of knowledge after reading Outposts. everything from sex art fringe politics drugs--its not only a great sourcebook but many of the publishers listed have EVEN more great books...amazing