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Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost: A Memoir Of Hampshire College In The Twilight Of The '80s (2009)

by Richard Rushfield(Favorite Author)

3.27 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1592404537 (ISBN13: 9781592404537)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Gotham

review 1: This is a great book for anyone who tried to navigate the strange waters of 1980s college life (or for anyone interested in the same), where a kind of surreal 'political correctness' on many liberal-arts campuses reflected the equally surreal rise of Reagan conservatism in the country at large, and led to a kind of nightmarish disassociation of students who didn't really feel comfortable in either camp. (And resulted in some interesting artistic/musical gestures that could loosely be seen as falling into the 'post-hardcore' scene best known for eventually paving the way to grunge, etc.) Heartfelt storytelling combined with many LOLs make for a fast read that feels like a walk down memory lane but without any cloying nostalgia. I think it's just being published in paperback... more, so if you missed it the first time around, now's a good time to revisit!
review 2: Hampshire College, hidden out in the woods of New England, is the liberal answer to any standard-issue southern Christian college and just as frightening. Imagine a place where forming a fraternity is actually considered a subversive act. I read Richard Rushfield's memoir of this college in the last half of the 1980s with equal parts humor and horror. Like some kind of gleeful imp, Rushfield set out to push the boundaries of the college's "It's all good" philosophy and in so doing, exposes them for the rigid traditionalists they really are down deep. (Don't you DARE ring the ceremonial bell before it's allowed).I wondered just how much of the sanctimonious nature of the student body was real and how much was authorial exaggeration/interpretation and then I came to Goodreads and read the review of this book by Paxton Lee. I now believe it was all true. And that terrifies me. less

Download links for: Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost: A Memoir of Hampshire College in the Twilight of the '80s

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