Far Out Man: Tales of Life in the Counterculture

In this ardent memoir, Utne (Brenda, My Darling), founder of the Utne Reader, frames his life as an American archetype: the young man seeking happiness, community, and meaning. Utne details his explorations of the 1960s and ’70s counterculture in a conversational tone, with evocative stories of his “hippie crash pad” in St. Paul, Minn., and hitchhiking to San Francisco, as well as moments of comedy, as when he nearly burns down his house lighting sage on fire for a group ritual. The narrative is generally riveting thanks to its insight into multiple alternative cultural movements of the past half century; along the way, Utne sold psychedelic mushrooms, embraced a macrobiotic diet, founded New Age self-help groups for men, and taught middle schoolers at a Waldorf school. However, the personal aspects of the memoir, such as anecdotes of his marriages, feel more detached than his counterculture narrative, and the repeated mention of well-known friends can come off as name-dropping. Still, Utne’s earnestness and honesty as he admits to mistakes during his life—such as dropping out of college and starting a business with his mercurial wife—are charming. Readers looking for stories of the swinging ’60s will find this an entertaining personal testament. Agent: Jim Levine, Levine, Greenberg, Rostan. (July)