Agents of Chaos: Thomas King Forçade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s

by Sean Howe

The life and times of  High Times ’ enigmatic founder Thomas King Forçade, an underground newspaper editor and marijuana kingpin who—between police raids, smuggling runs, and outrageous stunts—battled both the US government and fellow radicals. Cover illustration by legendary comics artist Bill Sienkiewicz. At the end of the 1960s, the mysterious Tom Forçade suddenly appeared, insinuating himself into the top echelons of countercultural politics and assuming control of the Underground Press Syndicate, a coalition of newspapers across the country. Weathering government surveillance and harassment, he embarked on a landmark court battle to obtain White House press credentials. But his audacious exploits—pieing Congressional panelists, stealing presidential portraits, and picking fights with other activists—led to accusations that he was an agent provocateur.

As the era of protest faded and the dark shadows of Watergate spread, Forçade hoped that marijuana could be the path to cultural and economic revolution. Bankrolled by drug-dealing profits, High Times would be the Playboy of pot, dragging a once-taboo subject into the mainstream. The magazine was a travelogue of globe-trotting adventure, a wellspring of news about “the business,” and an overnight success. But High Times soon threatened to become nothing more than the “hip capitalism” Forçade had railed against for so long, and he felt his enemies closing in.

Assembled from exclusive interviews, archived correspondences, and declassified documents, Agents of Chaos is a tale of attacks on journalism, disinformation campaigns, governmental secrecy, corporatism, and political factionalism. Its triumphs and tragedies mirror the cultural transformations of 1970s America, wrought by forces that continue to clash in the spaces between activism and power.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, Biography, 20th Century, Crime

432 pages, Hardcover

Published August 29, 2023

About the author

Sean Howe is a former editor at Entertainment Weekly and The Criterion Collection. His writing has appeared in New York, the Los Angeles Times, Spin, and the Village Voice. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Jeremy Fee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy of this work. This review is my honest opinion.

Agents of Chaos: Thomas King Forçade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s by Sean Howe was a fascinating read. I enjoy nonfiction, especially stories about people with interesting lives. I felt like the book was also a great chance to reflect on the power of government, the difficulties of the free press, and ways that people end up becoming outlaws/rebels in society. Having read some Hunter S. Thompson works in the past, I was familiar with some of the subject matter, but clearly not all of it. Also, just when I thought this true narrative couldn’t get any stranger, it did. It makes you wonder how far people should go to express themselves, and which risks are worth taking.

I highly recommend this book to fans of true crime and interesting nonfiction, but also to people interested in journalism and the press in general. I also really like the title: Agents of Chaos.

[Tina Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well. This was very much not for me.

I don’t think I read the synopsis very well before I requested this? I thought it was about cartels in the 70s (a subject I am very interested in). But it was, uh, not??? I think I was also very drawn to the awesome cover. But that didn’t really match the rest of the book….?

Ultimately I just found this very dry. I had a really hard time concentrating and really struggled through this. The writing was very dense and just didn’t hold my attention. I found my mind wandering a lot.

You might be wondering why I didn’t just DNF this and call it a day. I thought about doing that many times, believe me, but I always struggle to do that with gifted books. I’m also just stubborn and always think it will get better.

But in this case, I probably should’ve just given up. I ultimately got nothing out of this. It was a subject I wasn’t *too* interested in to begin with but I think I might have enjoyed it if it would’ve been executed just a bit differently.

But as it stands, I can’t tell you much about this book, even though I read the whole thing. It was just a little dryer than I like my nonfiction, unfortunately.

But oh well. At least it’s done and now I can move on to something I’ll enjoy more. If you are interested in the life of Forcade or are more comfortable with dry nonfiction, you’ll probably have better luck with this than I did.

Anyway. Thank you to Hachette Go for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and Hachette Books for an advance copy of a man who lived to make a scene, and the scene, though he was seen by many as an agitator for those that he professed to hate.

No matter how much a group might profess to be for the righteous, the holy the conservative in this country, America as a whole loves the outlaw. Rebels made this country, sure to save money on taxes and keep slaves, but still they rebelled against the man, the establishment and made something for a certain segment or society. People cheer the heels in wrestling, cops wear Punisher badges on their police uniforms, when even the Punisher in the comics says this is wrong. The look, the spitting in the eye of all that is dull and old. The asking of why things are, and instead of accepting because it always has been, ask for more. Even the forces of government adopt the guise of the outlaw. Suit and tie at 10,000 plate dinners to raise money, plaid and denim to talk to voters. And though Americans might love outlaws, the establishment likes control more, and will bring all their forces down on the nail that sticks up. And sometimes those we assume are rebels have an agenda of their own. Agents of Chaos: Thomas King Forçade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s by Sean Howe is a look at the founder of High Times magazine, pie thrower, underground press publisher and drug kingpin, a person with many contradictions, and many more mysteries.

Gary Goodson was born in Phoenix Arizona in 1945. Goodson lost his father early in an accident, and spent his youth a little lost. Goodson attended the University of Utah, graduating with a degree in business and an interest in the burgeoning youth movement and its possibilities. A time in the Air Force taught him enough about planes to get him a job smuggling drugs in South America. What is known is that Forçade was one of the first to start using pies in the face as political statements. And that he did start an underground newspaper called the Orpheus that he used to travel around in a school bus distributing copies. That eventually Forçade helped lead the Underground newspapers and presses by taking control of them. And that he fought with the government, fellow radicals and anyone else that he could. The police harassed him, destroyed his papers, arrested him for various crimes, and yet he persevered starting High Times in the early seventies, and than things got weirder.

A remarkable book about a person I knew little about but seems to haunt the protests movement, moving it along and around in many ways. Forçade was literally a man of mystery even his name seems like a facade for something much more. Sean Howe does a remarkable job of putting this book together, finding stories, legends, truths and maybe cover stories, and digging to find what might be real. Howe is a good writer, and though the book seems to start in the deep end of the pool, never loses the reader. In fact starting with a bit of legend fits the the narrative well, it isn't until later things start to get a little clearer, or in some cases smokier. A mix of history with true crime and a lot of gonzo.

Recommended for readers of cultural history, this is a really good history of a scene with lots of familiar names the MC5, Hunter Thompson, Abbie Hoffman and much more. Also for fans of Dr. Thompson and his Fear and Loathing tales, for a more complete look at some of the adventures. And also for people who enjoy well written accounts of fascinating outlaws.

[Keigan Eide · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information in this book is interesting and the character of Tom Forcade is an interesting one to write about and I’m glad to have some knowledge now of who he is and what he did. However, the way this book was written three SO many names of people, places, and references around so quickly that it was impossible to stay engaged with narratives and track who people were. That also makes it hard to retain any of the information other than the most coherent or outrageous stories which were few and far between. Also, some of the most interesting sounding stories were quickly glossed over and on to the next. The book is not about High Times its about Tom Forcade. And that’s fine, but the information was presented in such an academic and unengaging way it was hard to learn the information. And it made it a boring slog to finish this book.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high (heh, I see what I did there) hopes for this one, it seemed like the seeds of a great story, as I've always had an interest in the ways the idealism of the '60s soured quickly into the '70s. While I appreciated the background in how Forcade's "career", such as it was, had ties to the Yippies and White Panther Party, this felt too scattered and all over the place to present a compelling narrative. There was also a lot of repetitive parts near the end that felt like rehashed versions of events from this first half of the book.

[Corto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book in which Sean Howe gets down deep in the weeds of Thomas King Forcade’s rise from shit-stirring Yippie underground journalist and activist, to drug-running, counterculture magazine kingpin.

Not bad, though I could’ve done without the first 10 chapters. Recommended for people looking to fill out their counterculture library.

[Steve]

Skimmed some of this. I knew a person mentioned just briefly in the book, and had met a couple others who were more important to the narrative (Dana Beal in particular). Still didn’t make me want to read this. It is packed with details but I don’t trust the veracity of any of it.

[Lem Oppenheimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable for the most part though gets a bit lost in too much confusing detail at the end of the long first section. Not sure I would have been as interested without having a personal connection through my father in law being part of it.

[Mark Bunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this fast read. A quick study on the rebellion of the 1970s.

[Gi V]

DNF - possibly just not the right time for me. I made it to chapter 3 without getting hooked. Back to the romantic comedies I go, until my brain is fully recharged.

[ag · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems like a great book for someone with an existing interest in High Times or Thomas King Forcade. I didn’t have either, and that made this a tough one to get through.

[Arthur Bouhanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, all facts no story

[Brian Shevory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just looking at the title and cover page, I knew this was a book for me. Sean Howe’s Agents of Chaos tells the story of Thomas King Forçade, who not only founded High Times magazine, but was also a proponent of Gonzo Journalism and happenings of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The entire story is incredible and hard to believe. Nevertheless, Howe’s detailed reporting and descriptive narration allows readers to experience the various activist events and uprisings that occurred with the Yippy movement. While reading this, I was amazed that I had not known about Forçade previously, despite knowing more about some of those with whom he worked. I can kind of understand why he may have been forgotten over time—he seemed to like to provoke people to see what their reaction was; however, through his provocations, he also worked to push the boundaries and limitations about social norms, especially regarding drugs, in the 1960s and 1970s. It was amazing to see some of the events he participated in, whether trying to organize events like those of the Merry Pranksters, or working to organize failed music festivals that have been forgotten. Howe’s research and reconstruction of the events kept me picking up the book at all times, wanting to find out what kind of situation Forçade would find himself in again. There are some really entertaining situations and events, and many of them were unbelievable. Yet, people seem to have fond memories of him. Although the last section of the book, about how High Times started is probably the strongest and most entertaining part of the book, the lead up to this section also has some really crazy events mostly detailing Forçade’s work with the Yippies and his eventual falling out with them. A really entertaining and elucidating read about someone who may have been forgotten, but a highly important contributor to various movements, especially around alternative journalism in the 1960s and 1970s, and someone whose contributions to media transparency and presenting differing viewpoints are really appreciated today.