Books: Novel Tackles 'Summer of Love' Myths

For anyone wanting to know what it was really like or for those who lived through the "Flower Power" era, "The Other Side of This Life" offers a candid street-level perspective of life in mid 1960's America.

The Other Side of This Life, by G.C Glasser simply and eloquently presents a harsh and uncompromising perspective of the Viet Nam era military and San Francisco street life during the mid 1960s.

Attempting to avoid the military draft at the onset of the Vietnam War, Glasser's protagonist joins the Air Force. He then finds himself seemingly dropped into the epicenter of the mid 1960s' counterculture revolution. Leavened with humor and astute observations, the main character's wry recollections underline the deeply strange ambience of that era.

Glasser said, "The story is loosely based on my experiences in the military, bumming around the country, and life in San Francisco during the 1960s. It was definitely a strange period, and at times, it could be downright dangerous."

Glasser's casual narrative style and matter-of-fact descriptions take the reader on a journey spanning the socially volatile years beginning in 1965 through 1969. Along the way, there are encounters with drug dealers, street hustlers, interesting women, and eccentric intellectuals. Most often, the adventures evolve into misadventures and sometimes, near misses with the law.

As a writer, Glasser made his mark internationally as an award winning investigative environmental journalist of almost 20 years and more recently as a digital artist. He said of his first novel, "After years of writing mainly technical articles, I wanted to try my hand at an adventure story. The fact that there was a big hoopla about the fortieth anniversary of the 'Summer of Love' inspired me do put down my recollections in a semi fictional account. Everybody that lived through that era has a different take; however, I believe mine may be more realistic than most."

For anyone wanting to know what it was really like or for those who lived through the 'Flower Power' era, "The Other Side of This Life," is essential reading. It offers the reader a candid street-level perspective of life in mid 1960's America.

For a limited time, Glasser is offering The Other Side of This Life as a free electronic book which can be downloaded at Lulu.com. The cost of a soft cover version is $11.44/£6.25.

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