Kirjahaku

"The Wrong Stuff" is a rip-roaring psychedelic adventure extending the gonzo tradition of Terry Southern, Hunter Thomson, and Tom Wolfe. The dynamic cover of "The Wrong Stuff" shows a rebellious student flipping the bird to his good-natured music teacher, who continues smiling, like Pee-Wee Herman, His smile is broader than any of the students. Right from the start, in chapter one, the hazards are foretold, as long-haired, teenage boys cycle through special schools, mental hospitals, and prisons, goofing and laughing all the way. Our hero plays through them all, even the horrors of paranoia, spiked drugs, motorcycle gangs, big waves, and environmental disasters with a black cloud following him. It is the specter of war in Viet Nam. If the book just had a cover and chapter one, it would make a great movie. This book has twelve chapters and a play, any of which can stand alone; each packed with realistic characters, authentic dialogue, and moments in history. Each chapter is bursting with content, like a collection of condensed novels. t is like "Forrest Gump", whose story coordinates with major historical events, and like "Zelig", who keeps popping up where you wouldn't expect him, and in this new book, the author grabs us on page one and takes us on a hell of a trip. I laughed so hard that the other inmates all thought I was crazy.

Posterboy for Planned Parenthood and Other Stories by Steve Sloane is a collection of twenty-five stories that all stand up separately and aggregately create an autobiography. Highlighted short stories include: The title story, Posterboy for "Planned Parenthood" honors the author's mother, who was the director of Planned Parenthood and built the first legal abortion clinics following Rowe vs Wade. This and "Campaign for the Environment" demonstrate the power of social activism. "Pretty Boy", about a lonely, widowed grandfather and the love he shares with a parakeet, develops into a violent, haunting story of his family, which is more dysfunctional than most. It time travels through three generations with their pet birds, turtles, and dog, all marked for vicious conflict. It's a meditation on the essence of love and violence."Earline" is the story of a teen-aged African American maid, who comes north and deals with racism. It is an indelible portrait of respect, justice, and dignity. "Highschool Confidential" is a coming-of-age story with a gender-bending twist that will likely leave you chuckling at a red-hot teenage love affair viewed in retrospect forty years after. Enjoy "Unconfirmed Jew" wherein the author marries into the mob. "Nobody's Fool" is a situation comedy on-site with Mafia hoods in the Bronx and back in the author's Manhattan sales office, reporting to his father and sassy secretary. And from beginning to end, there is a series of camp stories that transport you to the Adirondack Mountains. A place where: bees attack in swarms, horses go berserk, and counselors abuse children.Overall, the author's emotional resilience and insouciant sense of humor will get you through the terror and pain of the stories; This coupled with vivid real-to-life dialog brings all of the characters to life. Colorfully woven throughout the book's fabric, there are spell-binding stories about alternative health and spiritual stories about life, death, and eternity. It is all authentic and priceless.