The Hippie Handbook: How to Tie-Dye a T-Shirt, Flash a Peace Sign, and Other Essential Skills for the Carefree Life

by Chelsea Cain, Lia Miternique (Illustrator)

Brothers and sisters! Here at last is a light-hearted, free-spirited, groovy guide to the timeless hippie skills and activities that make the world a better place, one macrame belt at a time. In illustrated, easy-to-follow instructions, author Chelsea Cain -- who grew up on an Iowa hippie commune -- provides practical and playful know-how for the hippie and hippie-at-heart. Learn how to milk a goat, build a compost pile, play "Kumbaya" on the guitar, teach a dog how to catch a Frisbee, and get your file from the FBI. Discover the finer points of caring for a fern, choosing a mantra, organizing a protest, naming your hippie baby, and making sand candles as holiday gifts. Including primers on cooking, dressing, driving, telling time, dancing, and celebrating your birthday in classic hippie style, and a righteous appendix of essential hippie books, movies, and slang, The Hippie Handbook knows the score. Right on.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2004

About the author

Chelsea Cain is the New York Times bestselling author of the Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell thrillers Heartsick, Sweetheart, Evil at Heart, The Night Season, Kill You Twice, and Let Me Go. Her next book One Kick (August, 2014) will be the first in her Kick Lannigan thriller series. Her book Heartsick was named one of the best 100 thrillers ever written by NPR, and Heartsick and Sweetheart were named among Stephen King's Top Ten Books of the Year. Her books have been featured on HBO's True Blood and on ABC's Castle. Cain lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

[Lauryn Wild · Rating 2 out of 5]

A flimsy read that contians a few creative ideas (such as how to tie-die in your bathtub), but mostly celebrates the nostalgia of what it means to be a hippy. You could probably flip through it in the bookstore, and glean anything of importance.

[Joanne Sitarz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this entire book in 1 day. I was already a hippie but I discovered some groovy ideas from reading this. I can’t wait to buy a pair of Birkenstock’s and I found a few movies and books to add to my bucket list.

[Donna L. Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

An explanation of the thinking, words, and actions from someone who lived through the era as a small child with hippie parents.
The instructions on making tie-dye clothing, sand candles, and macrame can start a new hippie on the path to full hippie-hood.

[Gino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insights about the hippie life and lovely looking illustrations, too. Plus I got motivated to make my own pesto from my garden. Cool and funny book to read. Haha

[Eline Siccama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and inpsiring. Full of Fun things to do, read of make.

[Nefertiti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is hilarious! Even if you're not a modern hippie, the ideas as well as the illustrations will have you laughing! That's a lovely, light take on the hippie culture.

[carlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books around , need all vegan recipes tho man ✌️

[Sarah Nicoson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical & even helpful

[Sarah Berk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this- keeping it to reference in the future 😜

[Rowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little book poking fun at hippie life, while also giving some pretty solid how-tos. Learn to organize a protest or sing around a camp fire.

[Anne L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book!
I must admit this made me laugh out loud a couple times while reading it. Overall, It is a light hearted , fun book filled with everything a hippie would know. Contains a few step by step instructions for hippy activities including how to tie-dye a t-shirt, make "oregano" brownies, etc. it's light and fluffy, would make a good little present for someone who enjoys the hippy subculture:)

[Maliades · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister got me this book for Christmas, and it was such a great choice! I aspire to all things hippie-fied, and this book is fun to either read the whole way through, or just open to any page and pick up a new 'essential hippie skill'. I might not get a goat any time soon, and I already know how to compost, but this book is going to stay at the top of my reading stack for a while!

[Kestrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was having a tie-dye party and wanted a couple of books to pass around and amuse my friends, and this book fulfilled that purpose well. However, the descriptions and illustrations are kind of skimpy, and you can find most of this information in more detail on the Internet. So, it was better as a conversation piece than as a source of in-depth information.

[diann dunkley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dippy. But not too hippie

thought the little book.was too flimsy; however the chapter on books read by the counterculture makes me want to read some of them again (ram dos, Tolkien, Hesse and some that I have not read. I'm really looking for an in-depth book on the counterculture. The Deadheads have sociologists writing about them, but what about hippies in general.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, light-as-a-feather read advising readers on hippie skills ranging from weaving macrame to baking "special" brownies. This would be a cute gift for anyone interested in the 60s or hippie culture.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quick, hilarious and absolutely adorable. Inside it has all sorts of activities, recipes, and other information on how to be a hippie. I actually ended up trying quite a bit of the things featured in the book. The author has a humorous, slightly sarcastic voice.

[Diana H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I'm checking out Cain's early published works. It's hard to believe that the author of this fun light look at the whole of hippiedom is also the author of a psychopath serial killer series...but she is.
Who would have put that together, eh?

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cute, and it does help this tie-dyed flower child to know how to travel in a VW bus (oh, hey, wait. I do that on a regular basis.) File it partially under crafting books, partially under humor, and sit down with a large pan of vegan brownies to read it.

[Sheela Word · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun send-up of the hippie stereotype, but there's much less content than the table of contents led me to believe. I finished the book in an hour and didn't feel that I learned anything real about life on a commune.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book looking at a slice of American life... specifically the years of my childhood. Old enough to be influenced by the hippi counter-culture, but alas, too young to really be a part of it. Fun to see what I knew and what I didn't.

[Swell Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun guide to a care-free life full of practical advice that anyone can use, and where the advice is less practical, the humor kept me giggling and smiling all the way through. I really appreciated the How to Compost chapter!

[Whitehouse16 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tongue in cheek look at the Hippie lifestyle including useful tips for good stuff like composting.

[Rem]

this book is hilarious so far. i'm a real hippie alright!

[Jenae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little collection of how-tos, including teaching your dog to catch a Frisbee! Good for an evening of light-hearted reading.

[Aggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! Fun & interesting. Loved it! Good resource material for anyone who wants to write about the counterculture.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny. I can now milk a goat with confidence!

[gary h dicker · Rating 5 out of 5]

All that can be told

everything you need to know about being a hippy except the sex part. An easy one hour primer about useful skills.

[Sarah Unicorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny with some good information!