High Adventure in the Great Outdoors

by Henry Rollins

Book by Rollins

Genres: Poetry, Music, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Henry Rollins (born Henry Lawrence Garfield; often referred to simply as Rollins) is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, author, actor and publisher.

After joining the short-lived Washington, D.C. band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the Californian hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 until 1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups until 2003 and during 2006.

Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as The Henry Rollins Show and Harmony In My Head, and television shows, such as MTV's 120 Minutes and Jackass, along with roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for human rights in the United States, promoting gay rights in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops.

Reviews

[Steve Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few okay bits, but mostly suicides and assaults and whatnot jackhammered into vomit-drenched broken sidewalks. You know, early Henry.

[Stanley Dunagin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book made me glad I left my existential days far behind me. If you are looking for Rimbaud, Kerouac, Ferlinghetti or even Morrison it is not here. I struggled to finish this book. Too much pain and anger. Sometimes the past is better left in the past and forgotten. Learn and move on. If this was an attempt at self exorcism I hope it worked for Rollins.

[Pachyderm Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exemplary and extraordinary elicitations by the seminal and singularly great Henry Rollins. It's his
larger-than-life "LIFE;" on the street, on tour, and maybe perhaps a slight respite with and from the
ever-so-dwindling little bit of life inside your head. Enough said; perhaps all ought be better off dead.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Super angsty and not all bad, but not all good either. He was very young when he wrote this, his later work is better. But it still isn't at all bad. I found that the anecdotes of this were the strong points.

[Brandon Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of different stuff here. Poetry, short stories, journal entries, fantasies etc… It’s really short. And I always enjoy HR’s writing. This is early 80’s Rollins so he has some REALLY dark thoughts.

[Shawn Fairweather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Rollins book that I read many years ago and I was happy to revisit it recently. Raw as raw can be and in Rollins terms...thats raw. Im not sure a lot of people will understand this nor should they really as in each of these writings were snapshots in time in one persons mind. Im sure we've all had these visions or something to the like at one time or another and just never captured them in their essence as done hear. I tend to think the key is not to take it word for word but more importantly the rationale or the intent behind the vulgarity or twistedness of the though process. He's turned off a lot of people over the years and retained many as well, for me, my appreciation for Hank is deeply personal as I had to endure many struggles and disassociation from society at times in my life and his writings were there for me. Not as an inspiration but moreso as a validation that I wasn't alone which helped me to overcome.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

These early books--with their short bursts of autobiography, fictional snippets, bad poetry, and random thoughts--are starting to grow on me. Maybe a bit juvenile in their unfocused rage, but that makes them really cathartic to pick up if you happen to be in a particularly foul mood. The author puts it best on the back cover of his collection, "The First Five:"

"A densely packed tome to keep the blood thin and the mind clear when enduring a long night of solitary refinement. Don't hitchhike solo on the highway to the great abyss. No need to sail alone through the stormy sea of your self-pity. When you need to wallow in the mire of your existence with a fellow self-obsessed insomnia-ridden megalomaniac and your friends no longer pick up the phone when you call, reach for this book."

[James Kirby · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are looking for witty, amusing, satirical stories similar to what Henry Rollins does at spoken word, this is not it. This reads more like a journal of Black Flag song lyric ideas that didn't quite make the cut. A few of the snippets really stuck with me and were brilliantly worded, but the majority of them are overly-angry (and often violent) rants that would definitely raise some red flags had this been the creative writing output of a high school student.

Not at all what I expected, but it was worth checking out for something completely different (and as a very quick read!).

[Jair Ibarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como leer un blog, solo son pequeños relatos de ficción, intentos de poesía e ideas amontonadas al azar y sin orden, se nota que fue escrito cuando Henry era joven, las ideas están desordenadas y aun así es posible entender lo que dice.
Recomendable pero no es el ideal para empezar.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

More ramblings from Rollins.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not his best - but great to finally read some of his earlier work, and always good to revisit Hank.