The Caravan

by Stephen Gaskin

In 1970 hippy philosopher-teacher Stephen Gaskin adjourned his open, weekly meetings (referred to as Monday night class) and left San Francisco on a speaking tour of the U.S. He was accompanied by 250 students in a caravan of 50 buses and assorted campers. Together they traveled over 8,000 miles as Stephen spoke at colleges and churches about peace, love and understanding, and the changes that were sweeping the country. Here are the original transcripts of that historic journey along with Caravan meetings and Stephen's commentary from todays perspective.

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1971

About the author

Stephen Gaskin was an American counterculture Hippie icon best known for his presence in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the 1960s and for co-founding "The Farm", a famous spiritual intentional community in Summertown, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Miranda Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One big caveat: This book is biblically unsound and written by a gentleman who was still in the "searching" era of his spirituality. So you should know that going in. He places a lot of "equally valid" status on things like Buddhism while declaring himself Christian.

THAT SAID, it's truly a fascinating book for anyone interested in the 1960s hippie movement, communal living, and DIY religion. There are a lot of really great, loving insights (and a fair deal of hooey.) The writing style is engaging and it made me want to visit the Farm and learn more.

[Koeeoaddi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An artifact of its time, so 3 stars, though I scarcely remember what's in it.