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A Change of Consciousness

Name: A Change of Consciousness
Author: Rand Greenfield
ISBN: 978-1-62747-151-0

A HIPPIE'S MEMOIR OF THE SIXTIES AND BEYOND

by Rand Greenfield ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2015

A lighthearted, appealing journey through America from the ’60s to the present day.

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Greenfield’s debut memoir traverses his own memories, from his cultural awakening during the hippie movement of the 1960s to the many places it led him.

After growing up in a small town in Illinois during the ’50s, Greenfield experienced a profound awakening while attending Stanford University in the early ’60s. The cultural and political currents of the nation, in California in particular, confronted him with a startling contrast to the conservative boarding school education he received in the Midwest. Through a series of colorful anecdotes, contextualized with the help of some minor historical and cultural background, Greenfield presents an interesting cross section of the times through his personal experiences, from studying with Phillip Zimbardo during the time of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment to days spent following the Grateful Dead during the era of Timothy Leary and Owsley Stanley. Greenfield documents his time living in Stanford's first co-op, multiple road trips throughout America’s national parks, and the various spiritual and cultural epiphanies he experienced along the way. Eventually Greenfield found his way to New Mexico, where he helped build a commune and attended law school. His legal career took him to Alaska, Oregon, and even Israel. He eventually returned to New Mexico to build a practice and start a family. Greenfield reminisces in warm, jocular prose, often undercutting even the most serious moments with a joke or aside. This lends the narrative an intimate, conversational feel, one aided by the author’s almost cavalier references to drugs, love, and rebellion that one might expect from a memoir of the era. While the story might only interest those fascinated with the countercultural ’60s and those who experienced it, this memoir provides intriguing and playful insights into one man’s quest, even if it lacks high drama or more famous characters.

A lighthearted, appealing journey through America from the ’60s to the present day.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-62747-151-0

Page Count: 246

Publisher: Sixties Publishing

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.