Timothy Leary: Outside Looking In: Appreciations, Castigations, and Reminiscences by Ram Dass, Andrew Weil, Allen Ginsberg, Winona Ryder, William Burroughs, ... Huston Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, and Others

Book Description

A memorial volume to one of this century's most colorful and pioneering figures in the consciousness movement

• A wide array of individuals from all stages of Leary's life provides a comprehensive view of the man and his impact on American culture

One of the most influential and controversial people of the 20th century, Timothy Leary inspired profound feelings--both pro and con--from everyone with whom he came into contact. He was extravagant, grandiose, enthusiastic, erratic, and an unrelenting proponent of expanding consciousness and challenging authority. His experiments with psilocybin and LSD at Harvard University and Millbrook, New York, were instrumental in propelling the nation into the psychedelic era of the 1960s. From the 1980s until his death in 1996 he fully embraced the possibilities of freedom offered by the developments in computer technology and the instant communication made possible by the Internet.

The essence of Leary's life has often been reduced to the celebrated formula of "Turn On, Tune In, and Drop Out." The wider implications of this esoteric call to communion have been lost, just as the multifaceted nature of Leary's personality was obscured by the superficial spin put on his life and ideas. In this book a wide array of individuals from all stages of Leary's life, friends and foes alike, provides a more complete view of the man and his impact on American culture.

It is still too early to know how posterity will judge the man and his ideas, but Timothy Leary: Outside Looking In shows that Leary was often so far ahead of his time that few could follow the extensive range of his thought.

Customer Reviews:

The battle against drug hypocrisy.......2006-09-21

Regardless of one's personal opinions about Timothy Leary, one cannot really deny the fact that he was a great man; great in the sense that his thoughts and ideas influenced an entire generation (and continues to do so), and that A LOT of people had - and still have - A LOT of strong feelings about everything he stood for. Perhaps it's too early to figure out how extensive his influence actually was. Everything he talked about didn't revolve around LSD, even though many tend to think just that. What many don't know, for instance, is that he contributed greatly to the field of psychology and developed different tests that are still in use today.

Robert Forte has edited a book, not about Leary's life, but more about people who met him, were familiar with him, were close to him, were affected and influenced by him, and all in all had some sort of relation to him. Some of these people are Winona Ryder (to whom Leary was godfather), Hunter S. Thompson, Albert Hofmann (the chemist who synthesized LSD in 1938), Ken Kesey (another "psychedelic pioneer"), Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Robert Anton Wilson, and many more.

Some of the contributions consist of Forte simply interviewing the individual in question, while in other cases the contributor has written the piece him/herself. But it's not all about Leary all the time. Timothy Leary is more a book about the psychedelic revolution itself than about one of its leading advocates. Richard Nixon referred to him as "the most dangerous man in the world", and sure, a great deal of the content is about him, what he accomplished, different incidents in his life, and so on. However, another great deal is about the use and abuse of psychedelic drugs, how they shaped and changed society and individual consciousness, how dangers (or harmless) they actually are, what happens to people who choose to try them, and how these now criminalized drugs could be used beneficially in different sorts of therapies.

It's not the best book on the market if you want to learn more about Timothy Leary's opinions and messages, but on the other hand, it's a great book if you want to know some of the influence and the affect he had on his surroundings. Furthermore, through its use of sensible discussions by and with well-informed and rational people, the book offers great knowledge about the absurd American "War on Drugs" and all the hypocrisy this futile and senseless war is built upon.

important and revealing.......2006-08-24

This is a rich and revealing book that I always recommend to anyone trying to grasp the contradictory figure that was Timothy Leary - not least because many of its subjects are still struggling to grasp exactly what hit them when Leary entered their lives. Highlights for me include the essays by Ram Dass, Robert Anton Wilson and Ralph Metzner, as well as William Burroughs' ability to use a few brief words so well. Winona Ryder's eulogy is also terrific -- it has since been included in Copeland's book on the greatest eulogies of our time, and I liked it so much I used it as the foreword to my own biography on Leary, 'I Have America Surrounded'.

As Forte writes in his introduction, this is "not a biography of Leary, nor an in-depth study of his ideas", and as such the critical review on this page by R. Goldstein seems to have missed the point of the book. Forte is not attempting to be a 'cheerleader' or promote his 'thesis', as is claimed, but instead provides a forum where those who knew Leary could record their memories and reminiscences. True, the majority are positive and loving, but this is no reason to criticize the book. The fact is Leary was deeply loved by many - which is something that those who condemn his character find it convenient to overlook. For this reason the book is an important record, but perhaps more importantly it is those who knew him best who often have the most revealing insights - and this is why the book is so valuable.

A little rain on the celebration.......2006-08-05

This book is a source of comfort to anyone disgruntled by Robert Greenfield's less than appreciative bio of Timothy Leary. Editor Robert Forte calls his project a "festschrift," which, if my rusty German holds up, loosely means "celebration of writing." It is by no means balanced; its cover promises castigations but delivers only one, ironically from former outlaw chemist Owsley Stanley. There are polite rebukes of Leary's methods from Huston Smith and Myron Stolaroff, but the rest of the book is mainly a chorus of paeans, a love fest that gets sloppy in places.

Part of Forte's thesis is that Leary will come to be vindicated and revered as another Socrates or Galileo. Inevitably the uptight world will recognize the transformational power of psychedelics and, grasping the keys to the missing link in evolution, start popping them like vitamin supplements. Why millions of grateful acid veterans haven't united to demand a change in the drug laws goes unexplained. Like a lot of other issues the book grazes. Why was Eldridge Cleaver not more supportive of Leary in Algeria? Why was Art Linkletter hostile to Leary? What happened to Leary's children? What was "The Brotherhood" that Forte cryptically refers to a couple of times? What about the charges that Leary betrayed friends, including the lawyers who helped him avoid lengthier prison time? Although Forte concedes that Leary failed "to confront his shadow," the negative aspects of his life, he left the shadowy particulars for Robert Greenfield to detail.

There are other shortcomings. The correspondence between Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard is vacuous, discussing where and when they plan to meet next. Albert Hofman's contribution is brief. Hunter Thompson's more caustic criticisms of Leary are absent, replaced by a short, all-is-forgiven comment. Some of the respondents use a pretentious argot prevalent in the `60s, reflecting the mindless blather of the drug-addled. And there are outrageous claims that transcendentalist philosophers Emerson and Thoreau took drugs, that psychedelics brought forth the computer revolution and the Internet. At least Forte didn't suggest that psychedelics are "the only visible hope for a race tottering on the brink of extinction." That claim was in a recent letter of complaint from the Leary estate to The New Yorker over the favorable review its critic gave to the Greenfield book.

I don't blame Forte for being a cheerleader. He was only 11 years old during the '67 Summer of Love, so he didn't see the zombies walking down Haight Street and other hippie enclaves ingesting not only psychedelics but other wares sold by hierarchical criminal outfits (such as the Brotherhood?) engaged in the "democratization" of drug distribution. Gosh and golly, why would law enforcement ever consider LSD a gateway to heroin, methamphetamine and crack? Set and setting indeed.

I thought I'd had enough of Leary after reading the Greenfield book, but I picked this one up after browsing its table of contents. It has limited appeal, so I give it three stars: one for the interview with Huston Smith, one for the interviews with Metzner & Stolaroff, and one for likening Leary to Huck Finn. Greenfield mistakenly linked him to Tom Sawyer.

Multiperspective View of Leary.......2002-08-28

Timothy Leary is a mythological figure. Almost everyone has an opinion of him, even if they have never read a word he wrote.
Often opinions are second-hand filtered through this or that media source.

The editor for this book, Robert Forte, one
of Mircea Eliade's last students at the University of Chicago,
does not provide us with second-hand information that he has digested, but instead, gathers an anthology of viewpoints from those who knew Timothy Leary. Not all are positive, and I was surprized to read the negative remarks of Owlsley Stanley in regards to Leary. Thanks to this compendium, we are allowed past the veil of the myth and get a glimpse of the human Timothy Leary.

Robert Forte knew Timothy Leary personally and has edited another book, Entheogens and the Future of religion, that I highly recommend.

Thomas Seay

a refreshingly honest multi-angled profile of Leary.......2000-11-16

Robert Forte is one of the most important living documentarians of psychedelic history and phenomonology. In this book, he's gathered a myriad voices of people who were really "there" when Leary was influencing people and who therefore have valuable commentary worth hearing -- both positive and negative. The folksy, chatty style of this book make it a pleasure to read. Along with his other book "Entheogens and the Future of Religion," Forte is performing an important informational and documentary service toward a fair assessment of the role that drugs have in society and also of the real-life figures who have affected this. This book is a must read for anyone interested in what Tim Leary (and for that matter, ...) were really like.

Average customer rating:

Amazing diary of a young woman
A Powerful and Intimate Portrait
Book Report: Diary of a Young Girl
Very interesting
Daughter loved it

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank
Manufacturer: Listening Library (Audio)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0553473476
Release Date: 1995-07-01

Amazon.com

Anne Frank's diaries have always been among the most moving and eloquent documents of the Holocaust. This new edition restores diary entries omitted from the original edition, revealing a new depth to Anne's dreams, irritations, hardships, and passions. Anne emerges as more real, more human, and more vital than ever. If you've never read this remarkable autobiography, do so. If you have read it, you owe it to yourself to read it again.

Book Description

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, Anne Frank's story has become familiar to millions all over the world, and remains a beloved and deeply admired testament to the indestructible nature of the human spirit.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

The Definitive Edition

Included in this Definitive Edition are diary entries previously omitted from the original, passages which reinforce the fact that Anne was first and foremost a teenage girl, not a remote and flawless symbol. She fretted over her emerging sexuality; often found herself in disagreement with the adults around her; and veered between the carefree nature of a child and the full-fledged sorrow of an adult living under extraordinary conditions and unbearable strain. Anne emerges more triumphantly and heart-breakingly human, more vulnerable, and more vital than ever.

Anne Frank and her family hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse for two years in an effort to escape the horrors of Nazi occupation. Only thirteen when her family went into the Secret Annex, she reveals her daily life as the world around them succumbed to the worst horror the modern world had seen, facing hunger, the threat of discovery and death, estrangement from the outside world, and above all, the boredom, the petty misunderstandings, and the frustrations of living in such confined quarters.

A timeless story rediscovered by each new generation, The Diary of a Young Girl stands without peer, and acclaimed actress Winona Ryder brings this unforgettable young woman to life in a stunning performance for listeners of all ages to cherish.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing diary of a young woman .......2007-10-01

Anne Frank is remembered for being a sweet young girl that went into hiding during the holocaust only to be found and sent to a concentration camp where she died 3 months befroe her 16th birthday. The time in between these two horrible events is full of fear, fights,learning, and love, basically life. This version of the diary has more material than the orginal, which some people think is too much, but it is what she wrote left alone. It has what she intended the book to be. It includes story from the restrictions put on her while she wasn't in hiding because she was Jewish to her chores that she did quietly in the Secret Annex such as peeling potatoes and rubbing beans. It is not always the most interesting book, but it does provoke thought. It's sad in the fact that you know how its going to end before you start, but Anne does not as she's wrting it. Anne Frank's writing surpass her age, she writes not as a stuborn teenager, but as an intelligent young woman.

A Powerful and Intimate Portrait.......2007-09-30

You know the storyline - a Jewish girl, her family, and some friends go into hiding for two years during the Nazi regime in Holland. Said girl writes her thoughts and observations of her life during this time in a diary, which is found and published after her death in a concentration camp. It has become a classic, and it was written by a young teenager.

My favorite aspect of this book will forever be Anne's powerful narrative voice. Her words speak, and more than that they smell and taste and touch. She gives her diary, "Kitty," an intimate portrait of life in the "Secret Annexe," both public and private - of the ups-and-downs of people's relationships, of her inner struggles and growth, of her love. Reading her diary is like looking through the window at the war from two perspectives - one from the outside in, at the life of a girl and a family who were sucked into the Nazi vacuum through no fault of their own; and the other from the inside out, at the crazy world war swirling around the epicenter of one fourteen-year-old girl.

Book Report: Diary of a Young Girl.......2007-09-30

This book tells an amazing story of a young girl living in Germany in World War II. And to think it was all a journal is amazing. Anne Frank, a brave young Jewish girl, spends two years hiding in the secret annex from the Nazis. Anne Frank started to keep this diary on her thirteenth birthday. She called her diary, Kitty. At the start of her diary, Anne describes fairly typical experiences, writing about her friendships with other girls, her crushes on boys.
Later, the Franks had moved to the Netherlands in the years leading up to World War II to escape persecution in Germany. They were forced into hiding with another family, the van Daans. There, they listened closely to the radio and everything that happened during the war. Anne kept up with everything that happened while she was there. It was very hard for her because she was separated from all her friends and her normal life style.
I suggest this book for all ages. It is a very inspirational story. It gives a different perspective on life.
-Hayley Robertson
6th period
10/4/07

Very interesting.......2007-09-26

Very interesting. I bought it for my sister. I already read the book, it is very nice and it has all the information need it.

Daughter loved it.......2007-09-04

I didn't read it, but my daughter did & found it fascinating. Not morbid tho times certainly horrifying.

Average customer rating:

There is some thing missing.
There is some thing missing.
One fantastic actress, one fantastic book!

Winona Ryder
Dave Thompson
Manufacturer: Taylor Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0878339264

Customer Reviews:

There is some thing missing........2001-03-22

Over all I thought this book was very good.The one thing that disapointed me was not enough information on Winona her self.I mean by this her likes and dislikes and also the things she likes to do in her spare time when she is not so caught up in her career.This book does have plenty of in depth detail on her acting career and plenty of detail on her 60ish parents.maybe I just want to see Winona write her own biography,something similar to Frank McCourts Angelas Ashes.So for now this book is the best out there until Winona gives her authorization to someone to write that book with the in depth detail for which I would like to read.

There is some thing missing........2001-03-22

One fantastic actress, one fantastic book!.......1997-11-06

If your a die-hard Winona Ryder fan, this book is a must have!

Average customer rating:

Top rate, should still be in print!
A GOOD LOOK AT A GOOD ACTRESS
Not much in-depth information, bit superficial.
Beautiful.

Winona Ryder: The Biography
Nigel Goodall
Manufacturer: Blake Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1857822145

Customer Reviews:

Top rate, should still be in print!.......2007-09-13

Well, I read this book and read it again, and I think it is more than adequate as a source of all info Winona. I would not describe it as superficial, but perhaps a little limited;not due to the author, but due to the restraints put on him by Winona's guard dogs, i.e. publicist and so on.

I have actually had a chance to meet the author, and I find him to be someone who is deeply passionate about his work, and who respects his subjects, but still tells a good story, and a factual one. It may be said that a Winona bio was a bit too early, but considering her vast career at the time, it was likely a good time to have one. I think the author should come out with a Winona Bio II, when the actress finally throws in the towel and becomes a private citizen, but I am biased that way, being a BIG admirer of the lovely young woman. I reccomend this book to anyone wanting to know who the woman is behind the scenes, and you will be glad you did!

A GOOD LOOK AT A GOOD ACTRESS.......2004-08-28

THIS IS ABOUT WINONA RYDER, ONE OF THE BETTER ACTRESSES IN HOLLYWOOD. A SOMEWHAT LIMITED BUT CANDID LOOK AT HER LIFE AND FILMS. THE BOOK MOSTLY IS FOCUSED ON HER MOVIES AND HAS SOME INTERESTING TIDBITS ABOUT HER. HER BOUTS WITH INSOMNIA, RELATIONSHIP WITH JOHNNY DEPP, AND UPBRINGING BY HIPPIE PARENTS MAKE THIS A WORTH WHILE READ. TOO BAD THERE WASN'T MORE DETAILS ABOUT HER PRIVATE LIFE. STILL A NICE READ AND RECOMMENDED FOR FANS OF THIS TALENTED BIG SCREEN STAR.

Not much in-depth information, bit superficial........1999-02-11

I expected much more information on how Winona Ryder really is, her hobbies, likes and dislikes etc. If I am correct, the author of this book didn't even have contact with ms. Ryder herself. Still, it gives a summary of her movies, which is nice.

Beautiful........1999-02-11

This book gives a good synopsis of the life of the beautiful and talented actress Winona Ryder. It goes through her years, telling of the influences her 60's-ish family had on her, her aspiration to be an actress, and, in one instance, when she was beaten up in school for "looking like a boy." This book is also beautifully illustrated. The photographs highlight her life well, and allow a lot of reader inflection. A journey through someone else's shoes which you will truly enjoy.

Average customer rating:

Winona is the best

The Winona Ryder Scrapbook

Manufacturer: Citadel Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0806518839

Customer Reviews:

Winona is the best.......2007-04-26

Winona is the best, hottest most perfect woman to walk the Earth since Eve and this book shows her off really really well! The end.

Average customer rating:

Pretty good, could use more info
The Greatest Book about Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder (Editors of Us Magazine)
US Magazine
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316893595

Customer Reviews:

Pretty good, could use more info.......2002-08-01

I picked this up since it seems to be the only good Winona Ryder book out there. Some good pictures are in here, as well as some interesting articles. But this is no biography. It's more like a scrap book of articles from the past. However, it's still quite interesting. I only wish there was more articles about the woman herself, and not her movies.

The Greatest Book about Winona Ryder.......1998-07-29

There are lots of books about Winona Ryder. But this book is the best... Lots of pics and information in it let You buy this greatest book.

Winona Ryder (Real-Life Reader Biography)

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Winona Ryder (Real-Life Reader Biography)
Valerie Menard
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 1584150394

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition

Average customer rating:

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
Anne Frank
Manufacturer: Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Product Description

Abirdged 360 minutes. Inlcudes parts ommitted from the oringinal

Harper's Bazaar Magazine: December 1994: Winona Ryder

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Harper's Bazaar Magazine: December 1994: Winona Ryder
vogue
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VC73SY

Vogue August 2007 - Winona Ryder Starting Over at 35, The Age Issue

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Vogue August 2007 - Winona Ryder Starting Over at 35, The Age Issue

Manufacturer: Vogue
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UV48JS

Product Description

Fashion magazine featuring Winona Ryder, The Age Issue, What to Wear from 19 to 91, Looking Better Than Ever from conquering your first winkle at 26 to the perfect yoga body at 52, and much more.

Amazon.com

If you thought kitsch was as simple as sweatshirts embossed with sparkling kittens or flamingo snow domes, think again. Celeste Olalquiaga has gone well beyond Webster's definition of "pretentious bad taste," and devotes more than 300 pages to the subject. Her thesis?

Kitsch is the ability to surpass essential belongings and rest in more superficial ones, to create an imaginary landscape through accumulation and camouflage, and to crystallize the continuous movement of life in the permeable disguise of fantasy.

The Ph.D.-wielding Rockefeller and Guggenheim award winner postulates that the Victorian era and the industrial revolution of the late 19th century were the grandparents of kitsch. People stuffed their homes with fantasy-themed tchotchkes to fill the "existential emptiness brought about by rapid industrialization." From "petrified nature" and "melancholia artificialis" to "vegetable jewelry" and "parlor oceans," The Artificial Kingdom covers every historical nuance of tackydom and leaves no postmodern paperweight unturned.

Book Description

The Artificial Kingdom is the first book to provide a cultural history of kitsch, an immensely popular aesthetic phenomenon that has always been disdained as "bad taste," or a cheap imitation of art. Proposing instead that kitsch is the product of a larger sensibility of loss, Celeste Olalquiaga shows how it enables the momentary re-creation of experiences that exist only as memories or fantasies. Simultaneously exposing and celebrating this process, Olalquiaga gives us a bold, trenchant analysis of what and how we see when we look at kitsch.

Tracing its beginnings to the nineteenth century--when industrialization transformed nature into an artificial kingdom of miniature scale--Olalquiaga describes the at once exhilarated and melancholic atmosphere where kitsch came to life. In an arresting mix of theory and anecdote, she examines objects from both the past and the present, probing the fluid boundaries between reality and fantasy, and finding in kitsch a phenomenon as relevant to our own time as it was to the era that made it a massive experience.

Customer Reviews:

Mesmerizing.......2003-11-23

I don't find this book derivative of Benjamin so much as openly drawing on him. Olalquiaga doesn't ape his work on kitsch - she applies it intelligently to her own research. Artificial Kingdom struck a deep chord with me. I concede that it is not the most rigorous examination of the kitsch experience possible, and some chapters are separated by intermissions of glazed ruminations that haunt the analysis and reverberate beneath it with personal conviction. But this is what I appreciate most about the book. You could do worse than recall in your reader Bachelard's reveries on the poetics of space. Olalquiaga's passage describing Rodney's marine home crystallizing around him into a glassy temporal suspension is as beautiful as anything by the sources from which she appears to draw her models.

Excessive Rodney.......2002-08-03

At times silly in the worst academico-critical way (the Nautilius in Vernes' Leagues is 'uterine'), and rather derivative of Walter Benjamin. However, charming, good fun, but check out Svetlana Boym's (lopsided) 'The Future of Nostalgia' along with it, if you get a chance.

The Artificial Kingdom: A Treasury of the Kitsch Experience.......2000-10-04

This is the most original work of non-fiction I have ever read. The author is able to write at great length about very unpromising subjects--such as snow-globes or the emotional significance of dust--with a sort of piercing intelligence that allows her to uncover beauty and meaning where others might see only bad art. Although frequently humorous, the book never ridicules kitsch; rather it discusses deep-seated human needs, and then shows how kitsch is an attempt to satisfy them. I read this book over a year ago, and I still find it to be a source of inspiration.

cultural history and philosophy collide.......1999-09-06

This brief, souvenir-inspired history of kitsch is also an ornate, brooding meditation on memory. In "trading the life of the memory for its cultural fossil," Olalquiaga reveals the origins of Atlantis in popular culture, of snow globes (the earliest said to feature Marie Antoinette with parasol), of aquaria and their folly-like porcelain castles, and notes that both Colette and Eva Peron amassed large collections of glass paperweights. Relating her feelings about a failed love affair and the redemptive qualities of Rodney, a hermit crab trapped inside her favorite paperweight, the writer transcends her anonymous epigram, "Styles die, only kitsch survives."

The Artificial Kingdom - A Treasury of the Kitsch Experience

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The Artificial Kingdom - A Treasury of the Kitsch Experience
Celeste Olalquiaga
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury, London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VZTVD6

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