Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (Paperback)

by Oscar Zeta Acosta (Author), Hunter S. Thompson (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Immensely readable...A Chicano Manchild in the Promised Land."-- Publishers Weekly

"Acosta has entered counterculture folklore. This is the life story of a man whose pain is made real, whose roots are in question, and whose society seems to be fragmenting around him."-- Saturday Review of Literature

"The most straightforward account of a Chicano's journey in search of a dream..." - The Los Angeles Times -- Review

Review
"Immensely readable...A Chicano Manchild in the Promised Land."-- Publishers Weekly

"Acosta has entered counterculture folklore. This is the life story of a man whose pain is made real, whose roots are in question, and whose society seems to be fragmenting around him."-- Saturday Review of Literature

"The most straightforward account of a Chicano's journey in search of a dream..." - The Los Angeles Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 17, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679722130
• ISBN-13: 978-0679722137
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #193,586 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good saga from a good writer, December 6, 2002

By	Michael A. Parodi (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I heard about Oscar'Zeta' Acosta basically from reading Hunter S. Thompson's book but became quickly fascinated by Dr. Gonzo and wanted to know more about him. I was pleased to find out he had also written some books and was even more pleased to find out he was(is?) a very good writer. Truly an inspiration to anyone who has ever felt their identity as an american is something that they have had to come to grips with. Apart from that serious subtext, it also a very entertaining and amusing story that rolls along, introducing some interesting and memorable characters and situations. A passionate human being wrote this book and it is filled with all the honesty and humanity of someone bearing his soul to achieve a greater sense of genuine self which for Oscar Acosta means being "A Brown Buffalo"

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A counter culture Chicano's struggle to find his identity., May 6, 1997

By A Customer

Acosta's Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo is a journey through the most desperate six months of his life which happen to be right in the middle of the psychadelic "drop-out" sixties. This is the story of a man whose pain is made real, whose roots are in question, and whose society seems fragmented.

We travel with him from town to town from San Francisco to Mexico in all sorts of environments. In each town he is confronted by another contact zone filled with racism, surrealism and rootlessness.

Acosta is brutally honest with himself. He calls himself the Brown Buffalo. Him and his people, killed not out of necessity but for excess. Their skins became coats and their heads were mounted on walls. They were a people used, abused and driven from their lands. Acosta ends his book where his life actually begins as Zeta, a leader to the Chicano people, the Brown Buffalos.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good story at heart, April 10, 2004

By	B. Trainor (summerville, sc United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is easy to dismiss this book. The hallucinations and drug-induced rants become a little exaggerated and tedious. Although, his friend and partner in crime, Hunter S. Thompson, would detail similar bizarre experiences in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, their intent seemed different. Whereas HST played with fantasy in social satire as a form of comic relief, OZA seems to want you to believe it to be fact...or at least for you to trust that he believed it.
With that said, the story is one of the most self-deprecating, odd, and entertaining autobiographies I have ever read. It can easily stand alone as study of a Mexican-American struggle for the American Dream, as well as companion book to Hunter S. Thompson enthusiasts. Regardless of your intent on picking this book up, OZA will amuse, disgust, and surprise you...making this a worthwhile read.

On a sidenote: This book truly makes you wonder, when HST and OZA joined up, who influenced who more.