“Skip’s account of the founding of JanSport wreaks of honesty, humor, and enough anecdotes to stir a memory in almost anyone who has spent time outside.” —Larry Burke, Editor-in-Chief, Outside Magazine From small-town Kansas boy to adventure-junkie extraordinaire to respected mountaineer, this funky and funny read traces Skip Yowell’s (cofounder of JanSport) unorthodox journey to the top of the outdoor industry. Full of offbeat details and photos from Skip’s adventures around the world, he lets it all hang out as he offers you a rare behind-the-scenes look at the three hippies who built a successful company during the Summer of Love . . . how their good vibrations continue to change an entire industry . . . and why breaking the rules and taking good care of their customers keeps JanSport at the top of their game. No question, Skip’s story will take you higher. He’ll show you the ropes for whatever mountain you face. Whether he’s drinking “Commie beer” in Ohio or slurping yak butter tea in China, this book will get under your skin and into your heart. And who knows, his story might just kick-start your dreams. So go ahead. Get the book (and another for your friend). Find a chair or couch or park or plane. Get comfortable. Be inspired. Then go climb your own mountain. “With contagious enthusiasm, droll photographs and ‘60s lingo, Yowell tells the breezy story of JanSport, maker of Trail Dome tents and ubiquitous day packs.” —Publishers Weekly

In this poignant and disturbing memoir of lost innocence, coercion, survival, and healing, Dianne Lake chronicles her years with Charles Manson, revealing for the first time how she became the youngest member of his Family and offering new insights into one of the twentieth century’s most notorious criminals and life as one of his "girls." At age fourteen Dianne Lake—with little more than a note in her pocket from her hippie parents granting her permission to leave them—became one of "Charlie’s girls," a devoted acolyte of cult leader Charles Manson. Over the course of two years, the impressionable teenager endured manipulation, psychological control, and physical abuse as the harsh realities and looming darkness of Charles Manson’s true nature revealed itself. From Spahn ranch and the group acid trips, to the Beatles’ White Album and Manson’s dangerous messiah-complex, Dianne tells the riveting story of the group’s descent into madness as she lived it. Though she never participated in any of the group’s gruesome crimes and was purposely insulated from them, Dianne was arrested with the rest of the Manson Family, and eventually learned enough to join the prosecution’s case against them. With the help of good Samaritans, including the cop who first arrested her and later adopted her, the courageous young woman eventually found redemption and grew up to lead an ordinary life. While much has been written about Charles Manson, this riveting account from an actual Family member is a chilling portrait that recreates in vivid detail one of the most horrifying and fascinating chapters in modern American history. Member of the Family includes 16 pages of photographs.

The very strange but nevertheless true story of the dark underbelly of a 1960s hippie utopia. Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and early 1970s was a magical place where a dizzying array of musical artists congregated to create much of the music that provided the soundtrack to those turbulent times. Members of bands like the Byrds, the Doors, Buffalo Springfield, the Monkees, the Beach Boys, the Turtles, the Eagles, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Steppenwolf, CSN, Three Dog Night and Love, along with such singer/songwriters as Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, James Taylor and Carole King, lived together and jammed together in the bucolic community nestled in the Hollywood Hills. But there was a dark side to that scene as well. Many didn’t make it out alive, and many of those deaths remain shrouded in mystery to this day. Far more integrated into the scene than most would like to admit was a guy by the name of Charles Manson, along with his murderous entourage. Also floating about the periphery were various political operatives, up-and-coming politicians and intelligence personnel – the same sort of people who gave birth to many of the rock stars populating the canyon. And all the canyon’s colorful characters – rock stars, hippies, murderers and politicos – happily coexisted alongside a covert military installation.

The first book to focus specifically on the women of the counterculture movement reveals how hippie women launched a subtle rebellion by by rejecting their mothers' suburban domesticity in favor of their grandmothers' agrarian ideals, which assigned greater value to women's contributions.

Traces the growth of the Hare Krishna movement in the U.S., describes the experiences of individual followers, and analyzes recruitment patterns, activities, and leadership of the movement.