Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary, A Biography by Robert Greenfield

Category: Biography Grade: B-

I think it kind of sums up Timothy Leary's life when you realize that pretty much nobody under the age of 30 today has any idea who he was. The "world-changing" psychedelic movement really came to nothing. I can't remember the last time I heard about LSD in any discussion other than nostalgic ones. According to Greenfield (and not a big surprise), Leary was an extraordinarily egotistical guy who went wherever the wind blew him, as long as it kept him in the public eye -- from Harvard professor, to LSD-advocate, to new-age guru, to prison escapee, to revolutionary and, all the time, to huckster.

The book somehow does manage to maintain your attention even though, viewed in hindsight, Leary's life never really amounted to much. Its easily summed up as "find a substance - take it - see what happens". Its not a very flattering biography. It does, however, include side trips to look at most of the interesting names from the 60s - Allen Ginsburg, Jerry Garcia, Jerry Rubin, Stokely Carmichael, etc. It would have been a better book if Greenfield had spent a little more time on these other folks around Leary that really made the 60s what they were. Again, you're left with the feeling that Leary was just a sideshow.

Its hard to recommend this book to anybody that wasn't a young adult in the 60s. Without that basis it'll probably bore you to tears. With the 60s as an "as-lived" background, especially if, unlike me, you were in to the drug culture/psychedelic movement, you'll probably find it interesting.

The Wayward Bus

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck

Category: Fiction Grade: B+

This'll be a pretty short review. John Steinbeck is, in my mind, the best novelist ever. While this book isn't quite up to the standards of classics like Of Mice and Men, East of Eden or Grapes of Wrath, its still classic Steinbeck. Steinbeck writes terrific stories but his strength is in the way he creates characters that you feel like you know and he does it in the briefest, most visual way possible.

Just one example of Steinbeck's efficiency. In describing Juan Chicoy, the lead character, he says "He walked as though he were going to some exact spot." Think about.

If you haven't read Steinbeck, start.

Variable Star

Variable Star by Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson

Category: Science Fiction Grade: B

I've been reading science fiction for a long time. The time I started - late 50s/early 60s - was really pretty much the golden age of the genre. The best author of the day was clearly Isaac Asimov, but right up there with him was Robert Heinlein. He probably wrote the best single sci-fi book of the time (maybe of all time), Stranger in a Strange Land. Heinlein has been gone for a while now, but a couple of years ago, his literary executor discovered among Heinlein papers, notes and a detailed outline for a novel that had never been written. The Heinlein estate hired Spider Robinson, an accomplished writer in his own right, to put together a full length novel based on the outline. The result is Variable Star.

The book isn't bad. It's not up there with the best of either Heinlein or Robinson, but it's very readable. It's pretty hardcore "space opera" - space ships, colonies headed to the stars, exploding planets. It's fairly cerebral with not a whole lot of action. Interestingly, for a science fiction novel, one of the themes is music as the eternal language. Overall, a fun read.