I recently listened to the audiobook of "Agents Of Chaos: Thomas King Forcade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s" and came away more puzzled than anything. I learned a lot about the founding of High Times Magazine, the marijuana-centered journal of the counterculture. Founded in 1974 by prankster, dealer, money launderer, and publisher Tom Forcade, High Times took the best ideas of the underground and independent press and combined them into a juggernaut. Yes, it was about pot, but also so much more than pot. Art, music, politics, horticulture, just about anything could be found between its covers. So of course a book about how it all came together would have to be good, right?
Indeed, it would. But Agents of Chaos doesn't give you just the story of the founding of a popular magazine. It includes the life story of publisher Forcade. And that's a lot of story - the man lived a crazy life and was the source of much of the chaos around him. The book goes deep into his life, his friends and associates, his protests, his business dealings. Does a reader interested in the story of a magazine really need to hear about how Forcade's highly modified car had eleven flats on a journey between music festivals?
Complicating the matter is that Forcade's pre-High Times profile is exceedingly long; the first mention of "High Times Magazine" makes its appearance in Chapter 11. The previous ten chapters are about Forcade, Yippies, Zippies, protests, drug deals, girlfriends, music festivals, rock stars, and far more about Forcade's daily comings and goings than anyone would sincerely want to know. This led to the formation of my theory that Agents Of Chaos is actually two books crammed into one. One is about Forcade, the other about a magazine. If you want to hear about one guy with a lot of friends and connections who goes on to found a magazine, start at the beginning. If you want to learn about the founding of a counterculture touchstone, skip the first ten chapters and you'll find your starting place without wading through hours of rather peripheral information.
Coming from a printing background, I was especially interested in the mechanics of getting the magazine out each month, but there is a great amount of information about layout, design, editorial decisions, advertising, distribution (the sold directly to news stands, bypassing the distributors - a very bold move at the time) and more. Also, you learn about Forcade's arguments with friends, fights with girlfriends, guns, and so much more.
If there are two books in this one, it would be easy to shake them out. One is straight biography of Tom Forcade. Cut out the petty details and you'll slim the book considerably, making it more concise. The second book would be what this book claims to be: the story of High Times. It would, unfortunately, be somewhat shorter than the biography but still a worthy read. Instead, I'm afraid we have two interesting books masquerading as one book, and a rather mediocre one at that. I enjoyed the book, but I remain firm in my belief that it is too dense for a single book, with too many accounts and details to remain focused.
Maybe that was the point. With a title that includes the word "chaos," one should expect to see everything thrown at the wall to see what sticks. In this case, too much of everything stuck. If you want the full story, read the full book. If you want the dirt on the magazine business, skip ahead.
Comments
Post a Comment