SECTION TEN 

sm
COLUMN 109, SEPTEMBER 1, 2004
(Copyright © 2004 The Blacklisted Journalist)

BOOK REVIEWS

WHO THE HELL IS STEW ALBERT? By Stew Albert, Red Hen Press: 203 pp., $16.95.

For the Youth International Party?YIP or Yippies'the word "party? meant both political group and outrageously good time.  The Yippies merged progressive activism and freak culture in the late 1960s.  Their most infamous "non-leaders? were Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Paul Krassner, but the other party animal---equally irresponsible for the chaos and comedy---was Stew Albert.  A fierce soldier for justice as well as subversive prankster, Albert has written this autobiography and recounted an adventure story brimming with thrills and troublemakers.

Albert was actively involved in the major Yippie stunts: the showering of money onto the floor of the Stock Exchange while stockbrokers stopped trading to catch it, the attempted levitation of the Pentagon, and the running of a pig for President in Chicago in 1968 and the police riots that ensued.  With his pal Rubin, they enlisted John and Yoko in a "Beatle/Yippie pact? that resulted in Lennon's radicalization and near-deportation.                

Beyond YIP, he became one of the few white revolutionaries befriended by the Black Panthers? inner circle, he ran for Sheriff of Alameda County (and lost, but carried Berkeley), and tripped on a beach in Algeria with Tim Leary after the latter's escape from prison.  With comrade and folksinger Phil Ochs, he traveled to Chile before the CIA-backed coup.  When he implemented DIY egalitarianism by helping create People's Park in Berkeley, then-Governor Ronald Reagan responded to the unsanctioned green space by bringing in the National Guard.       

He eventually sued the FBI for harassment -- and won.  Though the "60s momentum dissipated, this memoir serves as powerful inspiration for contemporary shit-stirrers.   Motivated by "an uncontainable need to test my bravery," Albert perfectly captures the time when "eros and courage came together in an unbeatable combination."  ##


FOR AS LONG AS PEOPLE KEEP LISTENING TO BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES, PEOPLE WILL WANT THIS BOOK

"A masterpiece!" --- SALLY GROSSMAN, widow of Bob Dylan's brilliant original manager, Albert Grossman.

"This book is a must-read for all rock 'n roll aficionados!"---EAR CANDY

"An essential reference for demystifying what the author refers to as: 'one of the most self-destructive binges of creativity in cultural history.'"---HAMMOND GUTHRIE, COUNTERPUNCH MAGAZINE

"Required Reading for anyone and everyone who considers themselves fans, followers, students, or those just plain curious of the Golden Age of Popular Music"---GARY PIG GOLD, FUFKIN.COM.

"I love the book. I love the way you can open it to any page and start reading and it keeps you reading. The book is just fun to read." --LEVON HELM, Drummer of THE BAND from Big Pink.

"Ellis Paul and I love your book."---RALPH JACCODINE, Ralph Jaccodine Management.

". . .perfect for our times."---WOODSTOCK TIMES

"Adam Duritz (he's the lead singer and writer for the famed Counting Crows). . .was at my studio and couldn't put the book down."---STEWART LERMAN, RIGHTEOUS SOUND INC.

". . .a must read for anyone who loves, music, loves life, loves rock and roll."---TSAURAH LITZKY, author of The Motion of the Ocean, Baby on the Water, and  Goodbye Beautiful Mother.  

"I recommend it."---DOUGLAS HOLDER, IBBETSON STREET PRESS.  

".  . .It is a fasinating, insightful read. You are such a wonderful writer."---STEPHANIE LEDGIN, Music Journalist.

"I could not put this book of yours down for a minute."---ED GALING, POET LAUREATE OF HATBORO, PA.

"Quite simply, Al Aronowitz is a living legend"---JOHN FORTUNATO, THE AQUARIAN.

"Every student and fan of The Beat Generation, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones will want to read this book"---RON WHITEHEAD, POET

"Volume One Of The Blacklisted Journalist is the kinda tome what a fella can dip into at any given point and find oneself hooked within a couple paragraphs"---DUKE DE MONDO, BLOGCRITICS.ORG.

"BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES: Volume One Of The Best Of The Blacklisted Journalist is a golden stash box of Al's You-Are-There history of two thirds of rock's Holy Troika"---MICHAEL SIMMONS, LA WEEKLY.

IN THIS 615-PAGE PAPERBACK, AL ARONOWITZ, ACCLAIMED AS THE "GODFATHER OF ROCK JOURNALISM," TELLS YOU MORE ABOUT BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES THAN ANY OTHER WRITER CAN TELL YOU BECAUSE NO OTHER WRITER WAS THERE AT THE TIME. AS THE MAN WHO INTRODUCED ALLEN GINSBERG TO BOB DYLAN, BOB DYLAN TO THE BEATLES AND THE BEATLES TO MARIJUANA, ARONOWITZ BOASTS, "THE '60S WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THE SAME WITHOUT ME."


CLICK HERE TO GET TO INDEX OF COLUMN 109


CLICK HERE TO GET TO INDEX OF COLUMNS

The Blacklisted Journalist can be contacted at P.O.Box 964, Elizabeth, NJ 07208-0964
The Blacklisted Journalist's E-Mail Address:
info@blacklistedjournalist.com
 
 

THE BLACKLISTED JOURNALIST IS A SERVICE MARK OF AL ARONOWITZ