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After graduating from the University of California, Davis, in the late 1960s, I worked for the entomology department for a year before dropping out and embarking on the adventures described in my writings. A half-decade later, I coauthored the first back-to-the-land book for my generation—Homesteader’s Handbook—and went on to study natural medicine, releasing The Natural Pharmacy Product Guide in 1991. I’ve been telling stories about my 1960s escapades for nearly fifty years and was inspired to start writing them down when I became a father. I wanted my daughter to know more about the fabric that created the person I am—and to transport readers into this special time. Thus, Groovin’ was born, and the second book in the the Hippie Adventurer Series, Trippin’, will be released in the fall 2017.
Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite
Anyone who lived through the 1960s remembers it as a time like no other. The counterculture of young people smoking marijuana and using LSD, the draft, protests against the Vietnam War, changing sexual behaviors, and other events defined the hippie, or flower child, movement. Author Rich Israel shares his personal journey in Groovin’: Horses, Hopes, and Slippery Slopes. As a college student at the University of California Davis, Rich participated in the movement by fully engaging in this new lifestyle. He worked for a year after graduation before leaving the 9-to-5 work life and embarking on many new adventures. His hitchhiking trips across the country, living in a van with his dog, Charlie, escapades with various friends, both long-term and short-lived, exemplify what it meant to live during that era. He shares good times, difficult times, and certainly many humorous moments. Throughout it all, the basic need to create a more loving and compassionate world was at the core of his and other young lives.
The author is a highly skilled storyteller - he describes each scene and person so well that the reader feels he was actually present. The book itself is inviting with meaningful quotes at the beginning of each part, some artwork, and a few photographs. The dialogue is crisp and well-placed. In Groovin’: Horses, Hopes, and Slippery Slopes, Rich Israel relates his adventures in a captivating style. The reader is engaged from the first page to the last. Mr. Israel notes that this book is the first of a series he is calling The Hippie Adventurer Series. Looking forward to the next one!
