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Naked Lunch

by William S. Burroughs, Mark Bramhall (Read by)

3.47 of 5 stars 3.47 · rating details · 32,528 ratings · 1,510 reviews

A masterpiece. A cry from hell, a brutal, terrifying, and savagely funny book that swings between uncontrolled hallucination and fierce, exact satire.--Newsweek

Audio CD, 7 pages

Published February 1st 2009 by Blackstone Audiobooks (first published 1959)

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Feb 07, 2013 mark monday rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: unstable-narratives, rain-man-reviews

WARNING: nasty language ahead, including the use of some of my favorite phrases from the novel; these include such choice nuggets as mugwump jism and to turn a massacre into a sex orgy and a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell and the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. anyway,

I’ll be honest, mugwump jism, it took me a while to get into Naked Lunch, to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. Three attempts, to be exact, a bubbly thick stagnan...more WARNING: nasty language ahead, including the use of some of my favorite phrases from the novel; these include such choice nuggets as mugwump jism and to turn a massacre into a sex orgy and a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell and the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. anyway,

I’ll be honest, mugwump jism, it took me a while to get into Naked Lunch, to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. Three attempts, to be exact, a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell. I don’t mind stream-of-conscious writing, I don’t mind the Beats, I don’t mind postmodernism, I don’t mind graphic sexual and violent imagery, I don’t mind experimental narratives, the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. But a work that combines all of those things in one fetid stew, in such an in-your-face way that could care less about creating any kind of empathy, and has such a complete disinterest in establishing easily-digestible form or meaning... well, it was off-putting mugwump jism. In a way it made me angry at Burroughs, to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. Who the fuck did he think he was, grinding my face in the muck and telling me that this foul nonsense was the new Now, a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell? I didn’t like how every fourth phrase seemed to be about shit or jism or asses or toothless mouths, the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. I thought the extreme homoeroticism was gruesome and not very erotic, and it actually made me feel rather homophobic – and this is coming from a bonafide cocksucker, mugwump jism.

But the third try worked like a charm to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. Maybe I just needed to grow into the novel, and not take its challenging ways so personally, a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell. The writing became amazing to me – overindulgent (obviously) but also masterful, profound even, in its hair-raising descriptive passages, its deadpan dialogue, its drooling emphasis on bodily functions, decay, death, degradation, the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. Its paranoia was no longer oppressive – if anything, it was freeing, mugwump jism. Naked Lunch’s ability to convey not just the darkness but the strangeness and black humor at the heart of both addiction and the various possible and existing forms of societal control became fascinating, to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. The radical changes in perspective, the decentralized plot and oblique narrative, all the grotesque, taboo fantasias suddenly felt mordantly playful and, well, “naked” in their need to convey a state of mind, a world view, a way of looking at the systems of the world... all of that actually became inspirational, in both the challenge of its intent and the radical nature of its result; and so the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame.

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Jan 12, 2013 Jeffrey Keeten rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

”The title means exactly what the words say: NAKED lunch--a frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of the fork.” The book title was suggested by Jack Kerouac.

If not for the intervention of William S. Burroughs friends, Naked Lunch would have never seen the light of day. Peter Orlovsky, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac decided to visit Burroughs in Tangiers and see if they could salvage any of the fragmented writing that had been dripping from the mind of Burroughs while he was nurs...more

74 likes · like · see review

Jun 22, 2010 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, darkness, funny-shit, good-fiction, read-in-2010

This book is beautiful in a sick-grotesque-wild-hilarious-creative-mind-bending-outlandish-drug-filled-dirty-brave kind of way. If I could use one word to describe it, it would be “bizarre”; although “hilarious” and “important” could work, too. In Naked Lunch you are taken into the mind of William S. Burroughs -- a twisted, drug addicted man, who also happens to be genius.

When considering its content, it’s no wonder Naked Lunch was banned and railed against when it was first released; it’s also...more This book is beautiful in a sick-grotesque-wild-hilarious-creative-mind-bending-outlandish-drug-filled-dirty-brave kind of way. If I could use one word to describe it, it would be “bizarre”; although “hilarious” and “important” could work, too. In Naked Lunch you are taken into the mind of William S. Burroughs -- a twisted, drug addicted man, who also happens to be genius.

When considering its content, it’s no wonder Naked Lunch was banned and railed against when it was first released; it’s also no surprise that it was as popular as it was, given its creative brilliance. I can’t recommend Naked Luncht to anyone; it’s as graphic as the imagination allows. In fact, I would say that it’s the sickest book I’ve ever read, but I just happened to read Bataille’s Story of the Eye the other day, too. Between the two, there’s really no way of telling which pushes the limits more: Naked Lunch describes events such as young men being hung by nooses while they cum and shit on other young men. Story of the Eye contains scenes such as those involving a just-plucked eyeball, drenched in urine, being immersed in a young women’s vagina and asshole. So you see, it’s tough to decide which is more bizarre; which is sicker. Novels like these -- that stretch limitations -- are important, though, because they remind us of our baser instincts. Becoming aware of and familiarizing ourselves with the sicknesses that can exist in human beings can actually further our empathy and appreciation; it can increase the likelihood that we note everyday acts of generosity, and therefore increase the chances that we, in kind, continuously act in such a way.

But I know that Naked Lunch isn’t for everybody. If you can’t handle or don’t like this kind of thing, that’s fine with me: what you prefer and decide to read affects me very little; and it’s your right, really. Read a worthless, mind-numbing romance novel for all I care. But don’t you dare try to take a book -- no matter how graphic or nasty -- out of the hands of others. Sure there are gross books out there that have no deeper meaning; but even these, I believe, have every right to be read. After all, who are you -- in your blatant subjectivity -- to choose what defines worthwhile art for others?

But that’s beside the point, really, because Naked Lunch is powerfully imaginative and creative. If you can take its vile nature, waste no time in adding it to your “to read” list, because it can open-up some perceptual doorways.
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55 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2008 R. added it · review of another edition

Shelves: dipped-into-from-time-to-time

Found this file I started on my computer June 9, 2007:

Hypertext Reading of Naked Lunch

Reading Naked Lunch as it was intended: open the book at any page and just read what is there. Keeping track of pages read, so that there is no duplication and each page is given its consideration. Am a bit anal about these things, so I'm not going to cut in the middle of a chapter...going to read nearest chapter from where I pry open the book. The book is never meant to end, because it's an immortal junky's ni...more

17 likes · like · see review

Jun 26, 2012 Michael Kneeland rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not an uber beat generation guru, but I'm fairly certain that Naked Lunch is the final destination to the journey started by Jack Kerouac in On the Road . It is very rhythmic (try reading it out loud) but also incredibly stream-of-conscious, much more so than Kerouac's novel (and he can get pretty damn stream-of-conscious).

This novel depicts the life (if you want to call it that) of a junkie in the '60s who travels from America to Mexico and finally lands [halfway across the globe] in Tangi...more

15 likes · like · see review

Nov 29, 2007 Joe S rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

So, basically, the meaningless drivel of the very first circuit boi? Seriously? Maybe I would have liked it better if I weren't already sick to death of all the hallucinatory narratives this book spawned. This is a structure that needed to be created only once to get the bastard over with and properly buried.

Drug narratives are always only autobiographies obsessed with the author's secret obscene wishes and (inevitably) Neanderthal politics. They are the literary equivalent of a frotteur on the...more

42 likes · like · see review

Jan 21, 2012 Lou rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book needs plenty of warnings on the front. Possibly drive you crazy and scar you for life. He goes to the edge and over full laden with drugs, profanity, sex, grossness and sadism. I think he has gone a bit too extreme, it seems that was his purpose to hit a nerve and cause revulsion in the reader.

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 18, 2009 Lauryl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who are not my mom

Shelves: speculative-fiction, fiction

The flaw of the 5-star rating system is in trying figure out whether you should award stars based on how much you liked a book, or based on how "good" you think a book is. These two criteria are often distinct from each other, and Naked Lunch, at least for me, is a perfect example of this. I think that Naked Lunch is a brilliant book, an that Burroughs is one of our century's great literary geniuses. So, that makes it a five star book. But did I enjoy reading it? Sometimes very much, sometimes n...more

32 likes · like · see review

Feb 22, 2008 Ivy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who are into this sort of thing

Recommended to Ivy by: Donald Fagen and Walter Becker

I made it just a little bit past the passage mentioning Steely Dan the dildo (actually, it's three generations of dildos all thriving under the Steely Dan name). And then, at the request of my old man who was sick of hearing me complain and puzzle over this book, I put it down for good. I don't like to leave books unfinished, but a girl can only swallow so many reiterations of the same tired orgiastic death-by-hanging scenario before she puts her foot down and says NO MORE!
I almost liked the bo...more

23 likes · like · see review

Jan 08, 2013 Arthur Graham rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd love to rate this one higher, but even with as groundbreaking as it was at the time, I always felt that Burroughs went on to produce better books. Just like Kerouac had stronger stuff than On the Road, so too did WSB in comparison to this.

It still has one of the most apt titles ever. Contrary to what the small-minded prudes who brought the obscenity case against it assumed, this book has nothing to do with some lascivious midday meal. "Naked Truth" might've been a better title, if it weren't...more

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Apr 20, 2008 Inder rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, 20th-century, fiction

Ugh. I'm sure this is very brilliant and all, but it's extremely unpleasant to read. Physically repulsive, it's enough to scare anyone away from heroin, and yet, in some ways, it glorifies the experience in a self-indulgent way. Mind you, the book has no plot, and is just one drug-induced hallucination after another. It gets pretty boring after a while. Even extreme disgust gets old after about 50 pages. You're so numb after a few pages that Burrough's attempts to get nastier and nastier and sho...more

18 likes · like · see review

Feb 19, 2008 Christos rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: college students desperate to look cooler than their friends who read the DaVinci Code.

Recommended to Christos by: Dr. Kevorkian

To quote Nelson Muntz of Springfield,

"I find TWO things wrong with that title".

All kidding aside, there are some books that I will dub way, WAY (did I say way?) too self-indulgent that others will brand 'genius' or 'groundbreaking'. This is probably one of them. It may be 'cool' to dig the hipster vibe and carry around a worn paperback copy of (for example) On the Road in your backpocket with your notes scribbled in the margins, as verification of membership in the Intelligentsiassociation, but...more

12 likes · like · see review

Feb 17, 2008 matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fictions-of-the-big-it, social-crit, satire, beat-stuff, shattering

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

9 likes · like · see review

Jul 02, 2007 AJ Griffin is currently reading it · review of another edition Recommends it for: drug addicts and crazy people

From the 20 pages I've read so far, it seems like starting a heroin habit is a bad idea.

24 likes · like · see review

Feb 01, 2011 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drugs, classics

A love/hate relationship...I'm thinking about it still, at least overnight. God, I hope this doesn't intrude on my dreams...

As far as I can tell, Naked Lunch is a series of drug related or induced experiences. My thoughts at the beginning of this book were variations of "I hate this. Why am I reading this." Around page 40/50, I realized that I was trapped. I kept putting the book down but would pick it up rather quickly thereafter out of curiosity. Creepy, trippy, and unnecessary, the words suck...more A love/hate relationship...I'm thinking about it still, at least overnight. God, I hope this doesn't intrude on my dreams...

As far as I can tell, Naked Lunch is a series of drug related or induced experiences. My thoughts at the beginning of this book were variations of "I hate this. Why am I reading this." Around page 40/50, I realized that I was trapped. I kept putting the book down but would pick it up rather quickly thereafter out of curiosity. Creepy, trippy, and unnecessary, the words sucked me in, to this awful place where Burroughs twisted words and facts and made drugs interesting and disturbing and not the slightest bit real or frightening. And that is my problem with this book. I was unable to relate in the slightest.

Were there even true characters in this book? Evil things happen within and I found it to be an unrealistic fantasy. I read to see what crazy or disgusting thing would happen next.

I found myself thinking how certain bits must have really riled up the censoring supporting public at the time of publication. My copy includes quite a bit extra about the banning of the book, the authors who testified in support of the book, court testimony, the book's literary worth. I can see that worth, though it took a little. There are scenes that should be more disturbing than they were but since I felt so distanced from the book, any bit of reality hiding in the pages was lost on me.

I feel as though I should not be able to offer a proper opinion unless I read through the book again. And Burroughs, what a walking drug encyclopedia! Part of me thinks that you either have to be on one of the drugs mentioned within, have an extensive and impressive grasp of the English language (be honest now), an unenvious ability to overly empathize with a story, or a drug history comparable to Burroughs himself in order to fully appreciate or relate to this book. Considering Naked Lunch and Fear and Loathing, the latter was at least funny at times, and completely coherent in comparison. Naked Lunch was not very funny. Yet I love that these types of books get under the skin. I think it is good for people to have their sensibilities ruffled, at the very least lightly stepped upon. Naked Lunch is more along the lines of stomping and then tossing a bunch of sandbags on those sensibilities. (less)

14 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2008 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What can you say about Uncle Bill that hasn't already been said? I know that there was an obscenity trial over this book back in the day, but it still amazes me that he wasn't killed by an angry mob in the streets. Remember this was published in an America that didn't allow married couples on television shows to sleep in the same bed or use the word "pregnant". The text is obviously extremely disturbing. Make no mistake, reading this book is an endurance test. If you make it through you will fee...more

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Oct 09, 2007 Hunter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: The few, the brave, and those eager to know where Steely Dan got their name.

This book makes no sense, not that it matters. Burroughs wrote it over the course of a year in a one-room apartment over a Moroccan male brothel, strung out on heroin. What resulted is a disturbing, satirical, bitter flood of images. To call it a meditation or a portrait doesn't do it justice: "Naked Lunch" is the lifeblood of a dying mind. It is a collection of vaguely-linked scenes, images, and flash pieces some humor, some horror, some pornography. As you might expect, it drags in places, bu...more

14 likes · like · see review

May 29, 2007 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Call me unhip, but...
When Burroughs was living in Tangiers, Allen Ginsberg went to visit him, and found the former so gone on heroin he (Burroughs) was just lying in a heap on the floor of a dingy, purulent apartment. Ginsberg spent an hour at his friend's side, without getting any response, or ever bearing witness to Burroughs even knowing he (Ginsberg (or, hell, Burroughs himself)) was there, and then left. Burroughs' life in Tangiers was evidently lived this way: only moving when he was out o...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Marco Tamborrino rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Questo libro può essere considerato capolavoro da alcuni e spazzatura da altri. Io non mi sento di chiamarlo in nessuno dei due modi, anche se propendo più per il secondo. 'Pasto nudo' è, come dice anche Burroughs stesso nella postfazione, proprio ciò che il titolo sta a suggerire. Burroughs ha passato quindicini anni a drogarsi, sperimentando tutti i tipi di droga esistenti o quasi, e in questi anni ha scritto 'Pasto nudo'.

"Uno scrittore può scrivere soltando di una cosa: di quello che c'è dava...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2009 Mike Philbin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

though it was an honorable pseudo-biopic, screw that David Cronenberg film - it was sex-dead. I want my Naked Lunch RAW, dripping blood, other bodily fluids and sexual grease, for K-rist's sake.

as for the book, it's lovely-strange in a way that needs to be experienced by most adult readers.

it's mankind's right.

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Lorenzo rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american, standing-still, 2011-readings

Still reading this one. But without so much hope left of being able to make it over page 10.
I have no doubt that this way of writing was really modern and provocative back in 1959. The fact is that fifty-two years later I am not able to stand what Mr Burroughs is trying to tell (or not to tell) me.

And I feel more at ease having an over-clothed fasting than a naked lunch.
Perhaps it's my problem, after all.

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 09, 2007 ryan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is crap. Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg should have left it on the crusty, filth-laden floor of Burrough's apartment where they found it. If you want to read a book written by a guy on enough drugs to kill a stallion, please, by all means, subject your brain to hell. Otherwise, read "Junky," at least it has a plot. Sort of.

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 30, 2007 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: oh yes

well...nothing is true and everything is permitted. that is the lesson, isn't it? cut up the words, more words come. cut up the book, get a new book. cut up your life, get a new life. however, shoot heroin for years and accidentally kill your wife and you could end up writing one of the greatest literary achievements of all time.

7 likes · like · see review

Jan 05, 2012 meltem rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okuduğum en enteresan kitaplardan biriydi. Belki de en enteresanıydı, aklıma başka bir kitap gelmiyor çünkü. Kolay kolay insanları yargılamayan, her şeye alınmayan, insanların tercihlerini "normal" ya da "anormal" olarak değerlendirmeyen biri olarak bazı yerler benim için bile fazlaydı. Demem o ki; beat kuşağıyla az çok ilgili değilseniz, eşcinsellik sizin için tabuysa, inançlarınız eleştiriyi kaldırmıyorsa ve hassas bir mideniz varsa (anlatım fazlaca ayrıntılı) bu kitaba yanaşmayın. Komikti ama...more

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May 07, 2013 Jill rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I give up.

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Dec 29, 2012 James Newman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As a man William S. Burroughs was probably not the best example for the moralists to look up to. The old junkie's reputation has however, remained as strong as it ever was. To this day Burroughs is worshiped by many a grown up literate libertine, who probably should know better. Whisper his name and see images of the Hombre de invisible wearing a three-piece suit holding court at the Beat Hotel, talking at length about growing weed in Mexico, the dreaded candiru or planning explorations to lost...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Evan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who think they "get" books no one else does

I have redrafted my scathing review from a year ago, the book confusing and annoying me less with time.

I choose this book because artsy reviewers called it vivid, brave, deep, etc., inlcuding endorsements from many famous authors who called him the "great genius poet of the hip generation", etc.

The problem with the book is that it is really 3-4 book's scattered chapters, which were hastily rolled into one book. It only works because the story is of the author's (a heroine addict's) attempt to s...more I have redrafted my scathing review from a year ago, the book confusing and annoying me less with time.

I choose this book because artsy reviewers called it vivid, brave, deep, etc., inlcuding endorsements from many famous authors who called him the "great genius poet of the hip generation", etc.

The problem with the book is that it is really 3-4 book's scattered chapters, which were hastily rolled into one book. It only works because the story is of the author's (a heroine addict's) attempt to sober up while hallucinating over years and dealing with his latent homosexuality. If tales are true the author sobered up to find his (one) manuscript being endorsed by author friends (even though the pages were out of order!). Its very submission for publication caused controversy in the age (homosexual drug user) so they rushed it through publication and the scattered combination of three (plus) stories was never sorted out. It is incomprehensible.

The truth is that much more like reading free-association from the incoherent mind of a high-to-overdose criminally insane street bum ranting filth from the sidewalk pulpit, and has little more value. Like the nutty bum, it is very entertaining at moments and memorable, but is going nowhere.

The dark images did not bother me and I admit that the meandering rant is well written inside of itself and amusing at countless moments while overflowing with unique writing style and hilarious moments of humankind commentary and the addict's perspective. But it is also incoherent fragments of scattered stories which seamlessly transition to something else entirely; as if a "novel" was written for Monty Python's "And now, for something completely different" motto of Random jokes. Paragraph to paragraph you cannot tell when the tale will transition to another time/place or characters, with no relationship with lines before.

They call it an "anti-narrative" - TRANSLATION; it has no story, no plot, nor consistent characters to follow. It's a few hundred of pages of random, sometimes shocking, and bizzare sex-filled images - but without a point.

You don't have guess whether it was written by someone while higher than Mt. Everest. As a testament to it's sexual nature, the word Jissom is almost as common as "the, and, and, of" in the so-called story.

The remainder is incoherent. A quote for example; "The Beagle has stashed the heroin in a lottery ticket". Huh? Even if you learn later that "the Beagle" is some one's nickname...how then did the heroine be concealed inside a lottery ticket? Dont ask, the story has already moved on to a doctor training a baboon for (botched) organ transplants and the secret police from some undefined place called Interzone - which may only exist in the druggie's frenzied imagination since the real police dont know what he is talking about.

A favorite book of people who want to tell you that they're smart because "only they get it and you don't", while inside their head they know it's a lie. Since the book can't be deciphered you can't prove them wrong.

I saw the movie first, which has little to do with the book, and that's probably for the best. If you think the book had a deep message - let alone a point other than "this is your brain on drugs" - then I'd recommend you enter a detox program before you overdose. For the rest of you, read "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" instead.(less)

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view all 6 comments

X. ? From an ant's point of view(or a crabman for that matter) a toilet might seem incomprehensible. It might think (if it thought anything at all) as it c...more
Feb 25, 2013 07:32pm

Evan I don't even know what to say, X, roll another blunt for yourself; maybe that was your point, that THIS crab needs to partake to get the deep meaning...more
May 07, 2013 07:22pm

Sep 30, 2012 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: charlie-s-list

Okay, I have to be honest: I had NO idea what this book was about. I'm not stupid; I know this was going to be a Beat novel, and that the author was talking about drugs or was on drugs during most of the novel. And I was looking forward to reading something abstract and philosophical and controversial. But then I just got lost. I would have given Naked Lunch a higher rating if I had understood the plot more clearly, I swear. I mean, some content bothered me, but I was not going to ban the freaki...more

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Jul 31, 2008 Maclain Rigdon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book because Burroughs shows up as Old Bull Lee in several of Kerouac's books, and I wanted to get a different perspective. What I got was a bombardment of the senses. I had to literally fight my way through this book, but by the end I started thinking of it like one big long joke, like "The Aristocrats" and I was able to stomach it much easier like that. To be honest, I am fascinated by this work, and I plan to read essays online and otherwise to find out more about this famous work...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 05, 2008 Maureen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Maureen by: Patti Smith

Shelves: novel, experimental

I am not sure if Naked Lunch is really a book, or a piece of experiential art. On either level, it works if you relax, let the words wash over you, and don't spend too much time trying to figure it out. It is like one of those mosaic pictures where, on the micro level, all it looks like is a bunch of little squares. When you step back, though, you see the Mona Lisa. This book wormed its way into my psyche to such an extent that I started spontaneously quoting from its pages in all sorts of impro...more

7 likes · like · see review

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About William S. Burroughs

William Seward Burroughs Jnr. always looked like the straight man among the Beat Generation, but his writing - violent, satirical, scatological, pornographic - makes the others look tame.
Burroughs was born into middle-class respectability and after studying English at Harvard and medicine in Vienna, trained as a glider pilot with the American military but was discharged as unfit for service in 194...more

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“You were not there for the beginning. You will not be there for the end. Your knowledge of what is going on can only be superficial and relative” — 171 people liked it

“The junk merchant doesn't sell his product to the consumer, he sells the consumer to his product. He does not improve and simplify his merchandise. He degrades and simplifies the client.” — 69 people liked it

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