How to Be a Hippie: Your Guide to Joining the Hippie Community, Learning about the Hippie Movement, and Discovering True Hippie Culture

by Tyler Starry

No one can tell you how to be a hippie. That would be very unhippie-like. It’s not about growing out your hair, wearing bright colorful clothing, listening to 60s music, getting stoned, being a vegetarian, or living in a commune. Being a hippie means having certain ideals and pursuing them actively. So in a way, it can be said that hippies have always been around at all times and in all places. If you want to pattern yourself after the 60s hippies, however, then start by embracing their chore peace, love, the environment, and the beyond. This short book will provide you with a concise and colorful overview of the hippie culture and the history of the hippie movement. And by the end of it, you’ll have a pretty clear picture of the hippie already inside of you.

50 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2015

Reviews

[Tracey Madeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was inexpensive and alright as an introduction. It starts with an attempt at a definition of the origin of the word hippie and there is reference to the Beat Generation who preceded the hippies in San Francisco.

The writer refers to The Charvakas an ancient tribe who questioned the status quo and believed in sharing. There is also a reference to Mazdak the Younger a Zoroastrian priest who encouraged his followers to share their property. This appears to be an attempt to ground the hippie movement in some kind of eastern spiritual heritage and it is true, eastern philosophies, like Buddhism, did influence young people. They wanted to set themselves apart as different.

The Love Pageant and the Summer of Love obviously get a mention along with the criminalisation of LSD and its original use in the military. Other notable names are Ghandi, but not Martin Luther King, who was a contemporary of the hippies. There is also a note about the interest in environmental issues, but not Silent Spring, which was published around that time.

This is a nice introduction, but I would have liked to see more research or a narrower scope to the book. You don’t have to go back to ancient times; the sixties would have been enough.

[Summerrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the journey back in time. There is a lot more to be shared. All hippies were not druggies because many many were and still are political and social activists.

We are older and wiser now and our core convictions are even stronger.
We are still the same in spirit. Still Peace and Love Always.

[Melissa Etheridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and easy read with some good background knowledge on the Hippie Movement.