Just looking at the title and cover page, I knew this was a book for me. Sean Howe’s Agents of Chaos tells the story of Thomas King Forçade, who not only founded High Times magazine, but was also a proponent of Gonzo Journalism and happenings of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The entire story is incredible and hard to believe. Nevertheless, Howe’s detailed reporting and descriptive narration allows readers to experience the various activist events and uprisings that occurred with the Yippy movement. While reading this, I was amazed that I had not known about Forçade previously, despite knowing more about some of those with whom he worked. I can kind of understand why he may have been forgotten over time—he seemed to like to provoke people to see what their reaction was; however, through his provocations, he also worked to push the boundaries and limitations about social norms, especially regarding drugs, in the 1960s and 1970s. It was amazing to see some of the events he participated in, whether trying to organize events like those of the Merry Pranksters, or working to organize failed music festivals that have been forgotten. Howe’s research and reconstruction of the events kept me picking up the book at all times, wanting to find out what kind of situation Forçade would find himself in again. There are some really entertaining situations and events, and many of them were unbelievable. Yet, people seem to have fond memories of him. Although the last section of the book, about how High Times started is probably the strongest and most entertaining part of the book, the lead up to this section also has some really crazy events mostly detailing Forçade’s work with the Yippies and his eventual falling out with them. A really entertaining and elucidating read about someone who may have been forgotten, but a highly important contributor to various movements, especially around alternative journalism in the 1960s and 1970s, and someone whose contributions to media transparency and presenting differing viewpoints are really appreciated today.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy of this work. This review is my honest opinion.

Agents of Chaos: Thomas King Forçade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s by Sean Howe was a fascinating read. I enjoy nonfiction, especially stories about people with interesting lives. I felt like the book was also a great chance to reflect on the power of government, the difficulties of the free press, and ways that people end up becoming outlaws/rebels in society. Having read some Hunter S. Thompson works in the past, I was familiar with some of the subject matter, but clearly not all of it. Also, just when I thought this true narrative couldn’t get any stranger, it did. It makes you wonder how far people should go to express themselves, and which risks are worth taking.

I highly recommend this book to fans of true crime and interesting nonfiction, but also to people interested in journalism and the press in general. I also really like the title: Agents of Chaos.

What a wild ride! There's absolutely no chance I would have believed any of this before reading this, and to be honest I still am stunned. Needs to be a film, stat!

My thanks to both NetGalley and Hachette Books for an advance copy of a man who lived to make a scene, and the scene, though he was seen by many as an agitator for those that he professed to hate.

No matter how much a group might profess to be for the righteous, the holy the conservative in this country, America as a whole loves the outlaw. Rebels made this country, sure to save money on taxes and keep slaves, but still they rebelled against the man, the establishment and made something for a certain segment or society. People cheer the heels in wrestling, cops wear Punisher badges on their police uniforms, when even the Punisher in the comics says this is wrong. The look, the spitting in the eye of all that is dull and old. The asking of why things are, and instead of accepting because it always has been, ask for more. Even the forces of government adopt the guise of the outlaw. Suit and tie at 10,000 plate dinners to raise money, plaid and denim to talk to voters. And though Americans might love outlaws, the establishment likes control more, and will bring all their forces down on the nail that sticks up. And sometimes those we assume are rebels have an agenda of their own. Agents of Chaos: Thomas King Forçade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s by Sean Howe is a look at the founder of High Times magazine, pie thrower, underground press publisher and drug kingpin, a person with many contradictions, and many more mysteries.

Gary Goodson was born in Phoenix Arizona in 1945. Goodson lost his father early in an accident, and spent his youth a little lost. Goodson attended the University of Utah, graduating with a degree in business and an interest in the burgeoning youth movement and its possibilities. A time in the Air Force taught him enough about planes to get him a job smuggling drugs in South America. What is known is that Forçade was one of the first to start using pies in the face as political statements. And that he did start an underground newspaper called the Orpheus that he used to travel around in a school bus distributing copies. That eventually Forçade helped lead the Underground newspapers and presses by taking control of them. And that he fought with the government, fellow radicals and anyone else that he could. The police harassed him, destroyed his papers, arrested him for various crimes, and yet he persevered starting High Times in the early seventies, and than things got weirder.

A remarkable book about a person I knew little about but seems to haunt the protests movement, moving it along and around in many ways. Forçade was literally a man of mystery even his name seems like a facade for something much more. Sean Howe does a remarkable job of putting this book together, finding stories, legends, truths and maybe cover stories, and digging to find what might be real. Howe is a good writer, and though the book seems to start in the deep end of the pool, never loses the reader. In fact starting with a bit of legend fits the the narrative well, it isn't until later things start to get a little clearer, or in some cases smokier. A mix of history with true crime and a lot of gonzo.

Recommended for readers of cultural history, this is a really good history of a scene with lots of familiar names the MC5, Hunter Thompson, Abbie Hoffman and much more. Also for fans of Dr. Thompson and his Fear and Loathing tales, for a more complete look at some of the adventures. And also for people who enjoy well written accounts of fascinating outlaws.

Realy enjoyed this book and I think it will have a good audience at my library. Fun nonfiction title. Definitely will be ordering.

I was really engaged with this biography of Thomas King Forçade, I’ve never heard of him before and wow was it a wild ride. It kept me engaged and I enjoyed the true crime element to this. It did everything that I was hoping for and Sean Howe has a great writing style that I enjoyed reading.