Customer Reviews
Red-Dirt Marijuana: the Essential Terry Southern? - By: gary shooter, 10 May 2007 
Terry Southern's "Red-Dirt Marijuana & Other Tastes" is a superb collection of Southern's shorter work, containing what is, for my money, the essence of Terry Southern. The varied imagination of Southern is on full display here. "Red-Dirt Marijuana" & "Razor Fight" are classic depictions of lifein Texas(these stories & one other here would later be worked into his novel "Texas Summer"). "Apartment to Exchange"(a favourite of yrs. truly) & "The Sun & the Still-Born Stars" explore the surrealistic side of Southern's imagination while his classic "the Road Out of Axotle" explores the artistic boundary where the real & the surreal meet & mix. "You Gotta Leave Your Mark" seems morein the vein of Farrell-like realism whereas the uncharacteristically understated (and underrated)stories "The Butcher" & "The Automatic Gate" employ a kind of hyper-realism bordering on magic realism. Terry Southern examines the perils of being hipin his stories "You're Too Hip, Baby"(an unspeakably great story & a favourite of mine) & "The Night the Bird Blew For Doctor Warner." "Put-Down" is a priceless depiction of bored, thrill-seeking students - perhaps also an ironic examination of the perils of being hip. In spite of his stated admiration for Hemingway, Southern seems to take a sly poke at the Hemingway mentalityin "The Face of the Arena", deflating the whole 'macho' world of Spanish bullfighting(another underestimated story,in my opinion). Big T even proves himself to be a pioneer of the so-called New Journalismin his stories "Twirling at Ole Miss"(quintessential Southern) & the hilarious "I Am Mike Hammer"(a favourite of Mordecai Richler). William Burroughs seemed to think "Blood of a Wig" sums up modern (post-modern?) reality - I'd take the good doctor's word for it. The only negligible pieces here are "Scandale at the Dumpling Shop" & "A Change of Style"(the latter of which seems like the sort of joke Lenny Bruce would tell on an off-night). These are easily ignored. Gloryin the weird & wonderful perceptions of the late, great Terry Southern. There are many roomsin Terry Southern's mansion - feel free to look around. This collection is absolutely essential & never, ever should go out of print. Every generation deserves the right to discover the Big T. Hip, baby. Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada.
A wild ride through 1950's and '60's America - By: , 11 Nov 1999 The Master of Black Humour rips apart twirlers, astronauts & many other icons of Americanain this brilliant collection of short pieces. A mixture of journalism & short stories, this book will be hard to put down. From the same mind that delivered the novels Candy & The Magic Christian & the screenplays for Doctor Strangelove, The Loved One & Easy Rider. This collection is a great starting point for tapping into the work of a master of satire & a monstro hipster.
