The Hippie Trip: A Firsthand Account of the Beliefs and Behaviors of Hippies in America By A Noted Sociologist

by Lewis Yablonsky

A new, colorful, and fascinating drama has emerged on the American scene. The action involves love, spiritually free sex, dope as a religious sacrament, and a new work ethic. And so sociologist Yablonsky begins his novel, giving the reader an opportunity to join him on his hippie trip. Yablonsky delves into the hippie movement as a sociologist, a hip interviewer/reporter, and as an involved person. This book includes experiences and perceptions from all three of these integral facets of Yablonskys personality. Yablonsky combines an extensive, coherent report on hippie life with a thorough look at the movement in relation to the wider societal issues of the time. The book begins with a Preview, an introduction into the scene, and then moves onto The Trip, Yablonskys actual journey. Part III, Analysis, examines the hippie movement in its own right and within the framework of American society. Part IV, The Appendix, is a presentation of data from questionnaires filled out by over seven hundred hippies. And there is, of course, a Glossary for all of you readers who may not be familiar with the terminology of the psychedelic movement.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, History, Philosophy

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 1973

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a "sociological perspective" on the hip society. Includes interviews of those in that scene.

I found my copy in a box of free books in a hallway at Shippensburg University while at a summer program there. Lucky find for me!

This was just amazing, especially if you are interested in understanding the reasoning behind the generation. What they saw that they wanted to change and how they chose to fix that with their own community.

[Tracey Madeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beauty of this book lies in the fact that it has first hand accounts with people who lived through this period. It gives an idea of how they thought, their opinions and how they spoke. It also gives some definitions of terms - what the hippies thought about education,government, how they defined love and the movement itself. This is a great resource for anyone wanting to know what actually went on during this period.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem!!!! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book, let alone an actual sociological study. Lewis Yablonsky provides an incredible perspective as a middle aged patriotic American professor just doing his duty as a sociologist, both responding in good faith to the idealistic aspects of the hippies while reacting with utter horror at how the scene actually manifested (as did I, yikes!) I still can't believe he decided to take 500ug for his first acid trip my jaw DROPPED when he said that. It is so fun to watch the dissonance between him and the people around him, and while I didn't agree with all of his takeaways I found him consistently interesting. Likewise, I LOVED getting to read the actual transcripts from the interviews he conducted with contemporary hippies - especially the ones who were eloquent speakers - I found a lot of resonance with what they were saying which helped clarify what it is that has compelled me to study this historical moment so in-depth, as well as understand what the material failures really were. I found so much insight from Yablonsky's analysis and finally feel like I've reached some level of closure on this topic. His analysis of the class system between the hippies themselves (hippie priests, novitiates, teenyboppers, plastics...) rang true for me and clicked something into place, helping me sift through the noise I've been struggling to wade through in my reading. The whole thing is so unbelievably fascinating and I'm surprised this book isn't more well known. So grateful that this book exists and that I just happened to find it in a used bookstore.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1968, The Hippie Trip is an account of the hippie movement through the eyes of a sociology professor, Lewis Yablonsky. Not only did he investigate what went on in communes, rallies and "hippie pads" on both coasts, but he tried to fully participate in all of their activities (including smoking pot, trying acid). He explains their intentions for changing America (mostly based upon Leary's theories), what was good about them, but why they ultimately did not work out.

[Firstpersonnarrator]

Didn't really talk about the spiritual stuff. Talked about LSD as a sacrament of the Hippie "religion." But no talk about the actual beliefs, unless I completely missed that chapter in the TOC.