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Apocalypse Culture
TWO THOUSAND YEARS have passed since the death of Christ and the world is going mad. Nihilist prophets, born-again pornographers, transcendental schizophrenics and just plain folks are united in their belief in an imminent global catastrophe. What are the forces lurking behind this mass delirium?
APOCALYPSE CULTURE is a startling, absorbing and exhaustive tour through the nether regions of today’s psychotic brainscape.
First published in 1987, APOCALYPSE CULTURE immediately touched a nerve. Alternately excoriated and lauded as “epochal”, “the most important book of the decade,” APOCALYPSE CULTURE had begun to articulate what many inwardly sensed — the-fear inspired irrationalism and faith, the clash of irreconcilable forces, and the ever-looming specter of fin de race. In its present incarnation for Feral House, APOCALYPSE CULTURE has significantly increased in size, taking on new perspectives on our current crisis, with pertinent revisions of many articles from the original edition.
APOCALYPSE CULTURE is a startling, absorbing and exhaustive tour through the nether regions of today’s psychotic brainscape.
First published in 1987, APOCALYPSE CULTURE immediately touched a nerve. Alternately excoriated and lauded as “epochal”, “the most important book of the decade,” APOCALYPSE CULTURE had begun to articulate what many inwardly sensed — the-fear inspired irrationalism and faith, the clash of irreconcilable forces, and the ever-looming specter of fin de race. In its present incarnation for Feral House, APOCALYPSE CULTURE has significantly increased in size, taking on new perspectives on our current crisis, with pertinent revisions of many articles from the original edition.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
112 people are currently reading
2700 people want to read
About the author
Adam Parfrey
27 books104 followersAdam Parfrey was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books, whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" areas of knowledge. A 2010 Seattle Weekly profile stated that "what Parfrey does is publish books that explore the marginal aspects of culture. And in many cases—at least back when his interests were almost exclusively transgressive—he sheds light on subjects that society prefers to leave unexplored, carving a niche catering to those of us with an unseemly obsession with life's darkest, most depraved sides."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
October 26, 2007
Just the usual gang of Satanists, trepanners and folks who like to suspend themselves by hooks from the ceiling. So what else is new?
August 29, 2025
Enter bizarro world, if you dare! I had the pleasure of communicating with Adam Parfrey shortly before he took off from this plane of existence. Adam specialized in recording, in their own words, the loonies, misfits, crazies and other original thinkers. It's all here, dude, in one collection of articles, manifestos and interviews: The case for eugenics eloquently pronounced by Bertrand Russell, Aldous Huxley and other esteemed authors. Let Church of Satan guru Anton Levey have his say on the benefits of devil-worship? For sure! How about a one-man Jewish cult that hails Adolph Hitler? Let's not forget those outlaws who praise the apocalypse and mass death as a good thing: Jose Primo de Rivera, founder of the Spanish Falange ("Viva la Muerte!"), the obligatory Charles Manson and, of course, Christian messianic sects. Adam respects all these spokesmen for their necrophilic causes, and that is what makes the anthology readable and enjoyable.
September 16, 2012
The book that changed my life in 1989 at the age of 17 when it was first released by AMOK press.
To say this book influenced me is like saying Julius Streicher's Der Sturm influenced antisemitism in 1930s/40s Germany. This book had led me onto the various trails that have put me where I am today.
Adam Parfrey does not get enough credit for this compendium of chaos. While now days this book is possibly looked at as "mild" you have to understand when it came out there was nothing and I mean NOTHING like it in the world. The subject matter was so varied and perfect it was every young (and old for that matter) deviants bible. Like it said in the revised edition on Mr. Parfrey's re-released through Feral House (his own publishing company, named by Boyd Rice);
"In the first six months or so, writers could not place reviews of Apocalypse Culture anywhere; editors were wary of “that book.” Without publicity and only limited shelf space, Apocalypse Culture somehow began to sell, and in its way affected things. I heard of it busting up a couple of marriages, one partner drawing the line over “that book.” Reviews began to appear, subjugating the book to vitriolic attack of abject praise."
I for one can attest to people flipping out in a rabid-dog display of reactionary anger. One day a gal I was dating (we will call her ‘Jane’) stopped over for a visit as I was re-re-re-reading Apocalypse Culture. I then sat the book down and told her I am going to get changed so we could go grab a few drinks. When I returned, there Jane was sitting on the couch looking at me as if I had a roll in the hay with her granny backwards up-hill over briars, she then threw the book at my head and called me everything from a hate filled crazy to a child molesting pervert. It probably didn’t help that I was laughing through the entire debacle.
So there you have it, one man's review of a classic, I cannot suggest this book for all deviants.
To say this book influenced me is like saying Julius Streicher's Der Sturm influenced antisemitism in 1930s/40s Germany. This book had led me onto the various trails that have put me where I am today.
Adam Parfrey does not get enough credit for this compendium of chaos. While now days this book is possibly looked at as "mild" you have to understand when it came out there was nothing and I mean NOTHING like it in the world. The subject matter was so varied and perfect it was every young (and old for that matter) deviants bible. Like it said in the revised edition on Mr. Parfrey's re-released through Feral House (his own publishing company, named by Boyd Rice);
"In the first six months or so, writers could not place reviews of Apocalypse Culture anywhere; editors were wary of “that book.” Without publicity and only limited shelf space, Apocalypse Culture somehow began to sell, and in its way affected things. I heard of it busting up a couple of marriages, one partner drawing the line over “that book.” Reviews began to appear, subjugating the book to vitriolic attack of abject praise."
I for one can attest to people flipping out in a rabid-dog display of reactionary anger. One day a gal I was dating (we will call her ‘Jane’) stopped over for a visit as I was re-re-re-reading Apocalypse Culture. I then sat the book down and told her I am going to get changed so we could go grab a few drinks. When I returned, there Jane was sitting on the couch looking at me as if I had a roll in the hay with her granny backwards up-hill over briars, she then threw the book at my head and called me everything from a hate filled crazy to a child molesting pervert. It probably didn’t help that I was laughing through the entire debacle.
So there you have it, one man's review of a classic, I cannot suggest this book for all deviants.
November 26, 2009
Man, what a weird-ass book.
Apocalypse Culture is a collection of essays about people and ideas on the cultural fringe of the fringe. And everything is more or less presented as is, making it harder to figure out what we're expected to take at face value and how much, if any at all, we're meant to see merely as a cultural expression.
I didn't get the book right away. The first essay is about werewolves, and ties in Charles Manson, some semi-famous incidents of feral people, and the savagery of humanity, or something. It kinda reeked of pseudo-intellectualism (as does a lot of the writing) and didn't really go anywhere, or make any conclusions. But I got it after reading the second essay, which is a sympathetic interview with a necrophile, who had been put on trial in California after getting caught in the act. A-ha, I thought, now I understand what this book is getting at.
The first part, Apocalypse Theologies, is by far the most interesting. The essays spotlight all sorts of f'd up people and ideas ranging from the necrophile, to misogynists, masochists, self-mutilating performance artists, religious cults, violence freaks, self-castration, notorious punk rocker GG Allin, and so on. Presenting various extremist lifestyles in a sympathetic light really pushes the limits of "to each his own", which I suspect was meant to challenge the reader into accepting the legitimacy of any lifestyle choice, no matter how crazy, but especially the crazy ones. Many of the subjects have their own version of the age old mantra "I'm normal because I'm comfortable with myself, and it's society that's f'd up because it can't accept that", which always strikes me as a little too defensive to be an honest claim, especially when it's an unvarnished look at these lifestyles, but it's fitting with the overall tone of the pseudo-scholarship. However, there is one article that is genuinely well written and reasoned, which criticizes the state of modern art.
On the other hand, the second part The Invisible War, stumbles right from the starting gate. You're know you're into the thick of pseudo-intellectualism with anything called the "invisible war", which is always about the little things hidden in plain sight that the powers-that-be are using to manipulate us all. The first essay is written by none other than the Church of Satan's Anton LaVey and it's a doozy. It sets the tone for the rest of the book. He argues that things such as the weather, three day weekends, white noise, and various other unrelated things are being used to lull us into a false sense of security and make us more susceptible to indoctrination via devices such as TV, or something. The remaining essays cover a huge variety of topics, mostly having to do with history and cultural criticism, all showing the hallmarks of pseudo-intellectual conspiracy theorist writing, including but not limited to, vague and broad definitions of the big ideas being argued, third-rate and illogical thinking (much of it circular), and casual and frequent connections made between events and ideas established in legitimate scholarship and concepts and theories that are not only unproven but illogical to boot.
The best example being an essay asking if genocide is being conducted on African Americans in the US, which is a sort of dual interview (conducted separately) of two writers; the one who argues against the premise has written about the subject for Time, talks very specifically and deliberately, and dismisses a lot of the questions as irrelevant, but acknowledging the plight of African Americans in this country, while the other who argues for the notion is extremely vague and talks in circles and uses a definition of genocide that is so broad, it could mean anything. The act of pseudo-intellectualism comes from presenting both individuals as equals arguing legitimate, if differing, points-of-view, when one clearly outmatches the other. Just as the first part, the second part has one genuinely interesting essay, this one a collection of letters to the editor that include some fairly bizarre, incoherent, and poorly written grade-A examples of crackpottery, which the writer apparently believes are legitimate cultural expressions that shouldn't be censored, and not merely the ramblings of kooks. It's pretty funny considering that in the intervening years, those kinds of crackpots have found expression on the internet, especially in the comments section of almost every web page.
Overall I'd have to say, Apocalypse Culture is more interesting as an expression of American cultural and political extremism and paranoia, and as a tool of how to underline the importance of critical thinking, than a serious look at the subject matter, but still worth a look for the curious.
Apocalypse Culture is a collection of essays about people and ideas on the cultural fringe of the fringe. And everything is more or less presented as is, making it harder to figure out what we're expected to take at face value and how much, if any at all, we're meant to see merely as a cultural expression.
I didn't get the book right away. The first essay is about werewolves, and ties in Charles Manson, some semi-famous incidents of feral people, and the savagery of humanity, or something. It kinda reeked of pseudo-intellectualism (as does a lot of the writing) and didn't really go anywhere, or make any conclusions. But I got it after reading the second essay, which is a sympathetic interview with a necrophile, who had been put on trial in California after getting caught in the act. A-ha, I thought, now I understand what this book is getting at.
The first part, Apocalypse Theologies, is by far the most interesting. The essays spotlight all sorts of f'd up people and ideas ranging from the necrophile, to misogynists, masochists, self-mutilating performance artists, religious cults, violence freaks, self-castration, notorious punk rocker GG Allin, and so on. Presenting various extremist lifestyles in a sympathetic light really pushes the limits of "to each his own", which I suspect was meant to challenge the reader into accepting the legitimacy of any lifestyle choice, no matter how crazy, but especially the crazy ones. Many of the subjects have their own version of the age old mantra "I'm normal because I'm comfortable with myself, and it's society that's f'd up because it can't accept that", which always strikes me as a little too defensive to be an honest claim, especially when it's an unvarnished look at these lifestyles, but it's fitting with the overall tone of the pseudo-scholarship. However, there is one article that is genuinely well written and reasoned, which criticizes the state of modern art.
On the other hand, the second part The Invisible War, stumbles right from the starting gate. You're know you're into the thick of pseudo-intellectualism with anything called the "invisible war", which is always about the little things hidden in plain sight that the powers-that-be are using to manipulate us all. The first essay is written by none other than the Church of Satan's Anton LaVey and it's a doozy. It sets the tone for the rest of the book. He argues that things such as the weather, three day weekends, white noise, and various other unrelated things are being used to lull us into a false sense of security and make us more susceptible to indoctrination via devices such as TV, or something. The remaining essays cover a huge variety of topics, mostly having to do with history and cultural criticism, all showing the hallmarks of pseudo-intellectual conspiracy theorist writing, including but not limited to, vague and broad definitions of the big ideas being argued, third-rate and illogical thinking (much of it circular), and casual and frequent connections made between events and ideas established in legitimate scholarship and concepts and theories that are not only unproven but illogical to boot.
The best example being an essay asking if genocide is being conducted on African Americans in the US, which is a sort of dual interview (conducted separately) of two writers; the one who argues against the premise has written about the subject for Time, talks very specifically and deliberately, and dismisses a lot of the questions as irrelevant, but acknowledging the plight of African Americans in this country, while the other who argues for the notion is extremely vague and talks in circles and uses a definition of genocide that is so broad, it could mean anything. The act of pseudo-intellectualism comes from presenting both individuals as equals arguing legitimate, if differing, points-of-view, when one clearly outmatches the other. Just as the first part, the second part has one genuinely interesting essay, this one a collection of letters to the editor that include some fairly bizarre, incoherent, and poorly written grade-A examples of crackpottery, which the writer apparently believes are legitimate cultural expressions that shouldn't be censored, and not merely the ramblings of kooks. It's pretty funny considering that in the intervening years, those kinds of crackpots have found expression on the internet, especially in the comments section of almost every web page.
Overall I'd have to say, Apocalypse Culture is more interesting as an expression of American cultural and political extremism and paranoia, and as a tool of how to underline the importance of critical thinking, than a serious look at the subject matter, but still worth a look for the curious.
June 25, 2014
at times, sections of this collection were incredibly infuriating. in some areas, despite themselves, certain authors took on an almost preachy tone that I found repulsive at worst and irritating at best. outside of those bits, it's an enjoyable read if you're interested in "questionable" subject matter and i definitely enjoyed some bits. however, i can't help feeling that people embraced many of these works more for the shock-value and for the sense of superiority they got from reveling in subject matter that scares others. in terms of the amount of actual substance and insightful ideas, there wasn't much that really blew me away. definitely not for the faint of heart.
January 8, 2018
I skimmed this book, by necessity. A few pieces in this book were genuinely interesting, some were incomprehensible rambling, and most were the sort of boring hateful nazi bullshit that "counterculture" white dudes start espousing with intention to shock (really just hoping it will make them seem interesting)
January 15, 2016
Apocalypse Culture is a gritty look back at a time before the Internet and the explosion of the Information age when publishing houses like Feral House (and let's be fair, there were and still are very few publishing companies like Feral House) were the reading audience's main window into the more obscure deviant, bizarre, and downright disturbing counter/sub-cultures of the 80s. Much of this anthology is comprised of articles written for obscure counter-culture magazines, as well as hand-made zines and handwritten letters or flyers, and is highly reminiscent of a time when the small press and self publishing were almost a form of revolutionary guerrilla tactics.
Apocalypse Culture, which has seen two upgrades (including a 25th anniversary edition) and a sequel, is chock full of dark side of human nature that was not normally available to the general public, from necrophiliacs and masochists to schizophrenics and conspiracy theorists. Everything from Lycanthropy to Eugenics is touched upon, and there are enough iconic personalities represented - Full Force Frank (confessed psychopath and publisher of how-to mass murder newsletters), Antone LaVey (Founder of the Church of Satan), G.G. Allin (Punk Rock Singer), Joe Coleman (Artist/Performance Artist), Peter Sotos (Controversial Writer), to name just a few.
Some of the work in Apocalypse Culture may seem a bit mild compared to what one can scrounge up with a simple Google search these days, but there are still materials to be found that even today are somewhat taboo. But more importantly, this collection of taboo materials is a snapshot of a cultural component that many people are not even aware existed (and to an extent still exists), so for many reading this anthology will be like lifting a rock to see what's been lurking under the surface of the past. Not for the weak of heart, fragile souls, or the easily offended, but highly recommended to those who are unafraid to stare into the abyss.
Apocalypse Culture, which has seen two upgrades (including a 25th anniversary edition) and a sequel, is chock full of dark side of human nature that was not normally available to the general public, from necrophiliacs and masochists to schizophrenics and conspiracy theorists. Everything from Lycanthropy to Eugenics is touched upon, and there are enough iconic personalities represented - Full Force Frank (confessed psychopath and publisher of how-to mass murder newsletters), Antone LaVey (Founder of the Church of Satan), G.G. Allin (Punk Rock Singer), Joe Coleman (Artist/Performance Artist), Peter Sotos (Controversial Writer), to name just a few.
Some of the work in Apocalypse Culture may seem a bit mild compared to what one can scrounge up with a simple Google search these days, but there are still materials to be found that even today are somewhat taboo. But more importantly, this collection of taboo materials is a snapshot of a cultural component that many people are not even aware existed (and to an extent still exists), so for many reading this anthology will be like lifting a rock to see what's been lurking under the surface of the past. Not for the weak of heart, fragile souls, or the easily offended, but highly recommended to those who are unafraid to stare into the abyss.
June 11, 2012
This book was, somewhat inexplicably, a “big deal” in the punk and rebel subcultures of my youth. I suppose that this is because there weren’t a lot of books at the time detailing the extremes of culture in a “Mondo Cane” fashion, and those that did usually had a tone of moralist finger-wagging (which this didn’t). Much of what is in here would be or already had been covered in the RE/Search book releases, but those were somewhat less well-distributed, as I recall. It wasn’t until Modern Primitives: An Investigation of Contemporary Adornment and Ritual came out that everyone suddenly knew about RE/Search.
I read the book, and was probably as fascinated as anyone else, but I scarcely remember it now. Looking it over again, what stands out to me is the article on GG Allin, which I’m pretty sure was the first I’d read about him (aside from occasional nastygrams to zines), and the article by Anton Szandor LaVey, “The Invisible War,” which Parfrey used as the title for half of the volume. In “The Invisible War,” LaVey critiques consumer culture in terms of being a war against freedom and personal sovereignty, in a clever satirical fashion. It may be one of the best of his later writings, retrospectively. Again, though, I don’t really recall reading it. Pretty much anything else in here you’re interested in can be found somewhere else.
I read the book, and was probably as fascinated as anyone else, but I scarcely remember it now. Looking it over again, what stands out to me is the article on GG Allin, which I’m pretty sure was the first I’d read about him (aside from occasional nastygrams to zines), and the article by Anton Szandor LaVey, “The Invisible War,” which Parfrey used as the title for half of the volume. In “The Invisible War,” LaVey critiques consumer culture in terms of being a war against freedom and personal sovereignty, in a clever satirical fashion. It may be one of the best of his later writings, retrospectively. Again, though, I don’t really recall reading it. Pretty much anything else in here you’re interested in can be found somewhere else.
April 23, 2013
Hasn't travelled, in time, as well as I would have liked. Either that, or I've not travelled as well. I read this book back in the early '90s and enjoyed it a great deal, but, then, everyone was looking forward to the end of the millennium. Well, it's long since come and gone and the world continues, excepting a few wrinkles, as much as it always has.
The book now reads more as adolescent diatribe than prescient and cogent cassandraing. I'm sure there are readers out there whom will enjoy this work. Mostly, those trapped, psychologically, with the New Left and the Counter-Culture with a post-structural bent. And this will be the perfect book for them.
However, I and the world have moved on.
Interesting but dated.
Mild Recommendation.
The book now reads more as adolescent diatribe than prescient and cogent cassandraing. I'm sure there are readers out there whom will enjoy this work. Mostly, those trapped, psychologically, with the New Left and the Counter-Culture with a post-structural bent. And this will be the perfect book for them.
However, I and the world have moved on.
Interesting but dated.
Mild Recommendation.
August 12, 2013
One word summary: clumsy.
The essays are so poorly written that actually reading the items is more unpleasant than the subject matter.
The authors attempt to legitimise their thoughts by using long, complicated sentences and big words that they do not even seem to understand.
The overall impression just comes off as little boys rebelling against the norms of their parents - and in the process inadvertently reinforcing those norms.
I've always had a great respect for books and usually give away books that I do not like, but this is garbage and going in the bin.
The essays are so poorly written that actually reading the items is more unpleasant than the subject matter.
The authors attempt to legitimise their thoughts by using long, complicated sentences and big words that they do not even seem to understand.
The overall impression just comes off as little boys rebelling against the norms of their parents - and in the process inadvertently reinforcing those norms.
I've always had a great respect for books and usually give away books that I do not like, but this is garbage and going in the bin.
March 20, 2014
Fans of fringe cultural shit look no further. Some of the essays here are poorly written, but the inherent absurdity of the subject matter makes it worthwhile.
I question any person that is able to read this in one sitting. Definitely a work that you need to pace and/or go back to over time. To read this in a single sitting is like being forced to watch a baby slowly burn in an oven, while taking a heavy dose of mescaline, while eating Lean Cuisine.
I question any person that is able to read this in one sitting. Definitely a work that you need to pace and/or go back to over time. To read this in a single sitting is like being forced to watch a baby slowly burn in an oven, while taking a heavy dose of mescaline, while eating Lean Cuisine.
December 4, 2012
A classic in my opinion. What many squares may describe as "out there" I would have to say is just the tip of the depravity iceberg. A book without equal.
June 11, 2013
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2016
FROM THE PRELUDE
"Apocalypse Culture embraces contradictions, draws mental ley lines between revelatory similarities amongst seemingly dissimilar material, and shuns the open-and-shut docu-drama diagnoses of psychological causality."
Haha, what?
"To examine the usual stupefied, amnesiac, greedy, frenetic or pious reactions to our apocalypse culture will have the salubrious effect of detachment and its possibility of measured remedy. Even recognition of no remedy is better than leaving oneself open in the name of fear to manipulation by charlatans."
Oh.
So, it's one of those books. One of those pseudo-intellectual, anarchy-driven, weird and far-out extensions of the belief that "The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living" and therefore we ought to try examining everything, even the truly bizarre, to find the Truth.
Although the subject matter is very dark, this one is still fun. Fun in that playful conspiracy theory-ish way of connecting the dots can be fun, though some consciousness-expanding substances may be needed to really unlock its full potential...
Recommended for Discordians, devotees of Robert Anton Wilson, Crowleists, and fans of The X-Files. Y'know, people with dangerously open minds.
2.5 stars out of 5. While it's good to shake yourself out of your comfort zone, I like my explorations of the fringes of human society a little more cheerful.
"Apocalypse Culture embraces contradictions, draws mental ley lines between revelatory similarities amongst seemingly dissimilar material, and shuns the open-and-shut docu-drama diagnoses of psychological causality."
Haha, what?
"To examine the usual stupefied, amnesiac, greedy, frenetic or pious reactions to our apocalypse culture will have the salubrious effect of detachment and its possibility of measured remedy. Even recognition of no remedy is better than leaving oneself open in the name of fear to manipulation by charlatans."
Oh.
So, it's one of those books. One of those pseudo-intellectual, anarchy-driven, weird and far-out extensions of the belief that "The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living" and therefore we ought to try examining everything, even the truly bizarre, to find the Truth.
Although the subject matter is very dark, this one is still fun. Fun in that playful conspiracy theory-ish way of connecting the dots can be fun, though some consciousness-expanding substances may be needed to really unlock its full potential...
Recommended for Discordians, devotees of Robert Anton Wilson, Crowleists, and fans of The X-Files. Y'know, people with dangerously open minds.
2.5 stars out of 5. While it's good to shake yourself out of your comfort zone, I like my explorations of the fringes of human society a little more cheerful.
July 28, 2021
It's a rare thing for me to (a) give a 1 star review and (b) not finish something, so congratulations to this book on that, I guess. I have never read anything so boring in my life, which is saying something, since Parfrey and his cohorts seem to be desperately trying to prove how edgy they are. Nearly every single article/essay/interview is filled with self-important statements and bloated purple prose. I mean, this book makes interviews with necrophiliacs and child torturers dull. You get the feeling you should be appalled, but you're just sitting there kind of stunned at the self-delusion and self-righteousness on display.
The most serious crime this "anthology" or whatever the fuck it is, commits is that it completely lacks an appreciation of its own ridiculousness. It's "edgelord" content from before edgelords were everywhere, only somehow it manages to have less self-awareness than your average teenage internet troll. While Parfrey seems to believe he's making some grand statements about Art and Freedom and blah, blah, blah, all he's really done is compiled wank fodder for a bunch of insignificant rejects who believe they're the ubermensch.
The most serious crime this "anthology" or whatever the fuck it is, commits is that it completely lacks an appreciation of its own ridiculousness. It's "edgelord" content from before edgelords were everywhere, only somehow it manages to have less self-awareness than your average teenage internet troll. While Parfrey seems to believe he's making some grand statements about Art and Freedom and blah, blah, blah, all he's really done is compiled wank fodder for a bunch of insignificant rejects who believe they're the ubermensch.
March 12, 2016
Some of the effect is spoiled by reading this in 2016, knowing the 30 years of future history that many of the essay writers herein did not. But there's a lot of just-plausible-enough conspiracy theory and bizarre history for a very entertaining read.
September 17, 2009
I'd give this book one million stars if I could. An olde tyme favorite I read the shit out of. It may be kind of dated now, but it's so awesome you shouldn't give a crap about modernity or pop/cultural relevance.
January 28, 2008
A classic in the crackpot weirdos genre.
August 12, 2008
What a blast this book is, a total freakshow from a time when the freaks seemed to be coming from the woodwork.
January 28, 2010
This is a great collection of interviews and essay on the socially irrational. A lot can be learned on the alternative state of humanity.
July 14, 2015
It might be the best book.
November 14, 2019
This book comes across as a bunch of crap just to strike you with its clever writing and unexpected seriousness.
In fact, despite its legendary status, "Apocalypse Culture" is more than a collection of essays on trashy fads and underground culture; or rather, yes - that's exactly what it is, but the authenticity of all its sources makes it terribly serious at its core, therefore not to be simplistically discarded as smut.
These short essays were collected in the late 80s and early 90s and cover a spectrum of subjects (literature, art, anthropology, history, psychiatry and psychopathology, deviant sexuality, advertising, religion, occultism) in the attempt to depict the dissolution of our collective and individual mind at the turn of the millennium. By gathering these writings Parfrey draws many parallels and few conclusions, thus leaving all judgement to the reader: all that matters is that the people and facts mentioned by the authors are (alas) real, and redefine with their very existence our society's concept of normality.
The main subject being nowaday's cultural hysteria in all its forms and manifestations, this collection includes quite a few interviews of psychiatric cases such as Karen Greenlee, the unrepentant 23-year-old necrophile whose judicial misadventures resulted in a newly acquired self-consciousness, allowing her to discuss her sexual taste without any sense of shame; or the publisher of a zine dedicated to illustrating his homicidal plans and giving tips on how to perform the optimum mass-murder.
The reader is indeed provided with lots of weird though authentic (I crosschecked!) documents, such as schizophrenic patients' notes and letters to newspapers, a text issued by the Red Brigades praising the famous P-38 handgun and a 1973 list of the Black Muslims' political requests.
In short, a hodgepodge of insanities. However, some surprisingly 'high-brow' pieces of writing are scattered among Parfrey's sleazy gems, starting with the essay on "Aesthetic Terrorism" about the need of a truly subversive form of art - as opposed to the tamed avant-garde the public's being fed by art critics and institutions. According to the author, all so-called rebellious art is little more than a mass-market product unless the outrage determines a real (possibly repressive) reaction against the artist; take the drastic measures against free press, for instance.
Among such 'intellectual' stuff, I particularly enjoyed one of the contributors' thorough analysis of Performance Art at its most extreme, in which he shows the link between ancient rituals and modern practices such as piercing, hookhanging, tattooing, self-mutilation and all sorts of self-destructive behaviours put on stage by the notorious performers of the 60s and 70s, a subject the reader is introduced to with attention and sensibility. Another excellent chapter is dedicated to a report from India, where the essayist joins in the ceremonies performed by Kali's worshippers; deviant religion and religiosity are indeed at the core of the book, from Manson-inspired hippie sects to conservative Masonry to the revival of Mesopotamian cults, not to mention the Reagan-esque alliance between Zionism and Christian fundamentalism.
Some of the contributors were extremely prescient in their intuitions, what with the essay on cybernetics as the means to cross the frontier between the human body and its mechanical environment... in both directions (neurally-controlled devices as well as brain stimulation). A territory yet to be explored when the book was written, by the way.
With regards to the dark side of technology, the psychosis of the atom era is aptly rendered in the story of J.W.Parsons, a rocket scientist involved in advanced military research and magickal hocus pocus, whose experiments were dangerously converging with his obsession for a... Fire Goddess ready to cleanse the world in a final blast (yep) until he was, uhm, conveniently suicided.
Needless to say this book is deeply rooted in Pop culture and the more or less latent madness it engenders. I loved the hilarious references to the packaging and marketing of children's products, e.g. Barbie breakfast cereals: advertising as a Trojan horse in a ruthless plot to turn children into consumers. Not to mention the essays about television and its nefarious effect on the mentally unstable or damaged.
All in all, I defintely enjoyed this collection. -2 stars to this particular edition though: too many typos.
In fact, despite its legendary status, "Apocalypse Culture" is more than a collection of essays on trashy fads and underground culture; or rather, yes - that's exactly what it is, but the authenticity of all its sources makes it terribly serious at its core, therefore not to be simplistically discarded as smut.
These short essays were collected in the late 80s and early 90s and cover a spectrum of subjects (literature, art, anthropology, history, psychiatry and psychopathology, deviant sexuality, advertising, religion, occultism) in the attempt to depict the dissolution of our collective and individual mind at the turn of the millennium. By gathering these writings Parfrey draws many parallels and few conclusions, thus leaving all judgement to the reader: all that matters is that the people and facts mentioned by the authors are (alas) real, and redefine with their very existence our society's concept of normality.
The main subject being nowaday's cultural hysteria in all its forms and manifestations, this collection includes quite a few interviews of psychiatric cases such as Karen Greenlee, the unrepentant 23-year-old necrophile whose judicial misadventures resulted in a newly acquired self-consciousness, allowing her to discuss her sexual taste without any sense of shame; or the publisher of a zine dedicated to illustrating his homicidal plans and giving tips on how to perform the optimum mass-murder.
The reader is indeed provided with lots of weird though authentic (I crosschecked!) documents, such as schizophrenic patients' notes and letters to newspapers, a text issued by the Red Brigades praising the famous P-38 handgun and a 1973 list of the Black Muslims' political requests.
In short, a hodgepodge of insanities. However, some surprisingly 'high-brow' pieces of writing are scattered among Parfrey's sleazy gems, starting with the essay on "Aesthetic Terrorism" about the need of a truly subversive form of art - as opposed to the tamed avant-garde the public's being fed by art critics and institutions. According to the author, all so-called rebellious art is little more than a mass-market product unless the outrage determines a real (possibly repressive) reaction against the artist; take the drastic measures against free press, for instance.
Among such 'intellectual' stuff, I particularly enjoyed one of the contributors' thorough analysis of Performance Art at its most extreme, in which he shows the link between ancient rituals and modern practices such as piercing, hookhanging, tattooing, self-mutilation and all sorts of self-destructive behaviours put on stage by the notorious performers of the 60s and 70s, a subject the reader is introduced to with attention and sensibility. Another excellent chapter is dedicated to a report from India, where the essayist joins in the ceremonies performed by Kali's worshippers; deviant religion and religiosity are indeed at the core of the book, from Manson-inspired hippie sects to conservative Masonry to the revival of Mesopotamian cults, not to mention the Reagan-esque alliance between Zionism and Christian fundamentalism.
Some of the contributors were extremely prescient in their intuitions, what with the essay on cybernetics as the means to cross the frontier between the human body and its mechanical environment... in both directions (neurally-controlled devices as well as brain stimulation). A territory yet to be explored when the book was written, by the way.
With regards to the dark side of technology, the psychosis of the atom era is aptly rendered in the story of J.W.Parsons, a rocket scientist involved in advanced military research and magickal hocus pocus, whose experiments were dangerously converging with his obsession for a... Fire Goddess ready to cleanse the world in a final blast (yep) until he was, uhm, conveniently suicided.
Needless to say this book is deeply rooted in Pop culture and the more or less latent madness it engenders. I loved the hilarious references to the packaging and marketing of children's products, e.g. Barbie breakfast cereals: advertising as a Trojan horse in a ruthless plot to turn children into consumers. Not to mention the essays about television and its nefarious effect on the mentally unstable or damaged.
All in all, I defintely enjoyed this collection. -2 stars to this particular edition though: too many typos.
March 19, 2021
Fin de seicle western civilization at the end of the twentieth century. Is the seed that Western civilization fundamentally flawed. Are we imploding? Does a vast chthonic conspiracy imprison us? This is acollection of essays, artwork, and assorted miscellania. The first half of the book is dedicated to cultural outliers; perverts, sado-masochist, potential mass murderers, even a necrophiliac. The first half of the book is an aesthetic assault on the reader. It centers around John Zerzan's article against Art which indicts the stultifying, consumer driven, ego driven world of aesthetic production. In railing against crap culture the compiler provides an alternative world of outsider artists who create sacred healing spaces of orgy, bloodshed, and pain. These modern Saturnalian rites and Eleusinian mysteries would perhaps have an effect on the dying in this crepuscular culture if they weren't confined to the printed word. But codified and trapped by the Library of Congress, most of this shocking published material is just another part of the cultural industry today. The Avant Garde eats itself and even Adam Parfrey can't spin a thread to extricate the reader from this excresence of western agricultural/technogical society. Perhaps because there is no alternative to this Reagen era Ragnarok presented.
The second half of the book is a shotgun wedding of conspiracy material. There is no overarching narrative and some of the worldviews presented are contradictory. But that is the fun part of the second book. Nothing in this section was new to me. After twenty years of internet research on occult and conspiracy subjects there is little I haven't come across. However, when this was published in 1989 it must have been like kryptonite to the status quo to hear of the demiurge, the order of the assassins for the first time learn or learn of Jack Parsons, Wilhelm Reich and James Shelby Downard.
Much has been made about this being one of the the most shocking and vile book of all time. I disagree. If you are interested in the abnormal as opposed to the quotidian side of things then this book will be enjoyable. I am excited to go through the bibliography.
Highlights:
Art in the Dark by Thomas McEvilley
Agriculture: Demon Engine of Civilization by John Zerzan (Zerzan's first essay on art is a little tedious, but this essay is a succinct and informed indictment of agricultural civilization.)
The Call to Chaos by James Shelby Downard.
The second half of the book is a shotgun wedding of conspiracy material. There is no overarching narrative and some of the worldviews presented are contradictory. But that is the fun part of the second book. Nothing in this section was new to me. After twenty years of internet research on occult and conspiracy subjects there is little I haven't come across. However, when this was published in 1989 it must have been like kryptonite to the status quo to hear of the demiurge, the order of the assassins for the first time learn or learn of Jack Parsons, Wilhelm Reich and James Shelby Downard.
Much has been made about this being one of the the most shocking and vile book of all time. I disagree. If you are interested in the abnormal as opposed to the quotidian side of things then this book will be enjoyable. I am excited to go through the bibliography.
Highlights:
Art in the Dark by Thomas McEvilley
Agriculture: Demon Engine of Civilization by John Zerzan (Zerzan's first essay on art is a little tedious, but this essay is a succinct and informed indictment of agricultural civilization.)
The Call to Chaos by James Shelby Downard.
November 22, 2011
This book was...interesting to say the least. Apocalypse Culture is composed of articles, letters and stories that have a "relation" to the fall of humanity or will induce the apocalypse.
Some of the stories are vulgar and descriptive. There were times I caught myself riding the bus reading to myself and making the silliest faces of disgust, strangers probably thought I was crazy!
Some of the stories were just plain interesting, things I have never thought about.
Because this book is FULL of disturbing information I had to take a break in the middle, fill my brain with some "decent" literature, and then continue.
I was amazed at how Parfrey ordered the articles, there were times (prior to reading) when I questioned why two articles were placed next to each other when the seemed to have no relation, Parfrey expanded my mind and proved me wrong!
Some of the stories are vulgar and descriptive. There were times I caught myself riding the bus reading to myself and making the silliest faces of disgust, strangers probably thought I was crazy!
Some of the stories were just plain interesting, things I have never thought about.
Because this book is FULL of disturbing information I had to take a break in the middle, fill my brain with some "decent" literature, and then continue.
I was amazed at how Parfrey ordered the articles, there were times (prior to reading) when I questioned why two articles were placed next to each other when the seemed to have no relation, Parfrey expanded my mind and proved me wrong!
July 25, 2008
If you are jaded and think that you've seen and heard it all, Apocalypse Culture was the book that ripped the lid off of the most recent outbreak of millenarianism. Here are the immanentizers of the eschaton, rattling their pricks and brandishing their swords. This is a sick cavalcade of corpse-fuckers, alien lovers, black magi, Bizarro religionists, exalted and debased conspiracy theorists, artistic murderers, etc. There is something to shock pretty much everyone. It's also gripping and often unintentionally hilarious.
May 2, 2010
I know that this book has been called controversial, but, for the most part, I'm not really sure why. Perhaps it was more shocking when originally published, but at present most of the subjects of the articles are discussed in great detail on the internet. The poor editing made it really tough to read, and don't bother with photographs if they are so grainy a reader can't make out what they portray. I was disappointed, and I'm surprised to see so many rave reviews.
February 7, 2008
There are some things in here that are lame, like an interview with a serial killer, and there are some things that are unbelievably awesome, from a brief essay on secret bombardments of electromagnetic radiation (stadiums make great receptor dishes, apparently) to a semiotic analysis of children's cereals to a deconstruction of the symbolism surrounding the first atomic bomb tests.
March 10, 2012
A collection of essays from the 90s (and earlier) about such taboo topics as the occult, self castration, trepanation, eugenics, etc all written with plenty of anger and paranoia. Mostly interesting stuff with some different viewpoints, but just as much falls flat due to preachiness. Definitely worth the price of admission, but expect to do a bit of skimming.
August 28, 2017
Been slowly reading this one essay by essay for 8 months. There are some interesting ones in here but you have to sift through a lot of bizarre and out there stories and theories. Normally that would sound like something I would be interested in but it is very dry and hard to read which kept me from being completely into what I was reading.
July 21, 2022
Repulsive, shocking, frequently incomprehensible, occasionally fascinating… Still a must read if you’re into more esoteric knowledge, but it’s obvious a lot of its chapters are included purely for shock value than anything else. Unfortunately the passages that are of genuine interest don’t make up for the amount of times I had to reread a page because it was so batshit insane
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