Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties - by Robert Stone (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A memoir of America's most turbulent, whimsical decade, in the words of the man who experienced it all.

From the New York City of Kline and De Kooning to the jazz era of New Orleans's French Quarter to Ken Kesey's psychedelic California, Prime Green explores the 1960s in all its weird, innocent, fascinating glory. An account framed by two wars, it begins with Robert Stone's last year in the Navy, when he took part in an Antarctic expedition navigating the globe, and ends in Vietnam, where he was a correspondent in the days following the invasion of Laos. Told in scintillating detail, Prime Green zips from coast to coast, from days spent in the raucous offices of Manhattan tabloids to the breathtaking beaches of Mexico, and merry times aboard the bus with Kesey and the Pranksters.

Building on personal vignettes from Stone's travels across America, this powerful memoir offers the legendary novelist's inside perspective on a time many understand only peripherally. These accounts of the 1960s are riveting not only because Stone is a master storyteller but because he was there, in the thick of it, through all the wild times. From these incredible experiences, Prime Green forges a moving and adventurous portrait of a unique moment in American history.

From the Back Cover

From the New York City of Kline and De Kooning to the jazz era of New Orleans's French Quarter, to Ken Kesey's psychedelic California, Prime Green explores the 1960s in all its weird, innocent, turbulent, and fascinating glory. Building on personal vignettes from Robert Stone's travels across America, the legendary novelist offers not only a riveting and powerful memoir but also an unforgettable inside perspective on a unique moment in American history.

Review Quotes

"[C]ompelling . . . he recognizes the peculiar mix of hope and desperation that made the time what it was . . . " - Los Angeles Times Book Review

"...[the] memories are as entertaining as they come." - Louisville Courier Journal

"His account of the Merry Prankster era and its aftermath . . . is compelling . . . because he recognizes the peculiar mix of hope and desperation that made the time what it was . . . " - Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Erudite but blunt, both tender and hard-boiled, [Stone] knows how to stick a sentence." - New York Times Book Review

"Engaging... a funny, entertaining picaresque. Stone is a born storyteller, with a wonderful feel for place and character that vividly evokes the cultural gulf America crossed in that decade." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Think A Moveable Feast on acid." - Men's Vogue